John Stuart Mill, a very important philosopher of the 19th century, is an early proponent of utilitarianism. In his essay Selections From Utilitarianism, Mill defines what the theory consists of and provides his answers to the common misconceptions people have against it. Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, states that “actions are right insofar as they tend to promote happiness, wrong insofar as they tend to produce the opposite of happiness” (77 Mill). Utilitarianism focuses on the overall good of the world rather than individual pleasure. While the theory seems nice, since we all love world peace, there are some issues I have with Mill's answers that make me question the legitimacy of the theory. Mill explained in his essay that according to utilitarianism, the moral value of an action is based solely on the outcome of the event, making the theory consequentialist (55, Bennett). Furthermore, he believes that the intentions behind the actions are insignificant. The only thing that matters is the good deed. The problem I have with this particular idea is this...