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Mill Vs. Kant

            Both Mill and Kant have their own unique arguments about the motivations behind our actions. Kant believes that the only moral actions are ones in which we act in accordance with what we would want to become a universal law. He argues that even if the results of an action are favorable, it is not a moral act if the person acts out of self interest, or any other interest that is not in accordance with a universal law that would be beneficial to anyone in a similar position. Mill takes the opposite stance, saying that it does not matter what the motivation is as long as the result benefits the greatest number of people possible. .
             The major disagreement between these two positions lies in the means in which an end is achieved. Both philosophers agree that the end result of any action should be that which conforms to moral standards. The core of the disagreement can be seen only by looking in the hearts of the people who make the decisions and then act on them. They disagree about one small part of the human conscience, one that is invisible to anyone but the decision maker himself. Kant believes that that person's motivation for any action must be totally pure and in accordance with universal law in order to be moral, in other words a categorical imperative. It must not be a hypothetical imperative, or one that is based on the individual circumstance of the situation. Mill would say in response to this that whoever is affected by this decision does not know and probably does not care what the motivation for it is, as long as the end result is favorable. Thus, the decision maker's motivation is irrelevant.
             While Kant's argument may be something that sounds nice in theory, it is Mill's argument that is more grounded in reality. If a person goes through life making moral decisions for every situation he encounters he is a moral person. It is unrealistic to think that people do so solely because they wish for their actions to become universal law.


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