Topic > Categorical Imperative Theory: Kant's Ideas...

The purpose of utilitarianism, according to Mill, is to realize what the individual unconsciously desires and to transform that desire into reality. If an individual doesn't know what options they have, they don't have the ability to make the best decision. Mill underlines this by relating happiness to the visibility of an object. If an object is not visible, for the most part the object does not exist, as is the case with happiness. Mill's argument sheds light on the individual rather than the group in his interpretation of utilitarianism. As I stated earlier, Mill does not quantify his interpretation of utilitarianism. Instead, concepts like morality are internally rather than externally based. Everyone has the potential to decide for themselves whether their actions are moral or not. In this way, Mill addressed most of the criticisms of utilitarianism. However, Kant's categorical imperative acts more as a decision rule for action than as a universal one