Greatest happiness principle from "summary" of Utilitarianism and On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
The principle of utility, or the greatest happiness principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness, is meant pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure. Pleasure and freedom from pain are the only things desirable as ends; all other things being only desirable as means to these ends. The utilitarian doctrine is that happiness is desirable, and the only thing desirable, as an end; all other things being only desirable as means to that end. What is meant by utility, is the greatest happiness principle, which defines the fundamental principle of morality. This principle holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. The principle of utility is not something to be contradistinguished from the principles of justice, or of any other virtue. It includes them all, and is the foundation of them all. It is the standard by reference to which we may judge whether any given action is right or wrong. To have a clear and precise understanding of what morality demands, we must understand that the ultimate end, with reference to and for the sake of which all other things are desirable (whether we are considering our own good or that of other people), is an existence as free from pain as possible, and as full of pleasure as possible. The principle of utility is not a mere form of words; it stands for a clear and intelligible conception, grounded on the distinct idea of what is desirable. The standard of right and wrong, the idea of what is fit and proper, is not fixed by the decrees of any legislative body, or by the custom of a particular society. It is rooted in the nature of things, and is based on the constitution of human nature itself. Happiness is the ultimate end, the criterion of what is right and wrong. The principle of utility is not something arbitrary and capricious; it is founded on the nature of human beings and their relations to each other. It is a principle that can be understood by all rational beings, and is capable of being applied to the actions of all people in all circumstances.
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