A journal review session took place on February 01, 2017, at the Meeting Room of BRAC University Savar campus. Ms. Saudia Islam, faculty member of Ethics & Culture, discussed an article titled “Getting Mill Right” written by Deni Elliott.
The article tries to clarify Mill’s utilitarianism and how it can be taught in media ethics appropriately. John Stuart Mill is regarded as the greatest classical thinker in media ethics and he has provided a foundation for balanced news presentation in arguing that public discussion must include minority opinion in order to discover the truth.
Usually utilitarianism is understood by the arithmetic formula which is “Do the greatest good for the greatest number,” but this formula can be misused by applying it in justifying morally unaccepted action as a right action. Ms. Saudia explains how the article shows the difference between arithmetic good and aggregate good, where arithmetic good is calculation of people who are going to be satisfied by the action; on the other hand, aggregate good is the overall good for the community as a whole who are concerned with the action. The article also sheds light on the connection between individual good and community good by giving the argument that individual’s happiness is dependent on the happiness of the community as a whole. In other words, happiness is found in the realization of society’s shortcomings and active involvement in making the world a better place.
Ms. Saudia further mentions the purpose of the article, which is to analyze Mill’s utilitarianism by considering all relevant factors to remove all vagueness and make it understandable for both students and teachers of media ethics.
The session was open for all to share their views after the discussion. Faculty members of Ethics & Culture shared their opinion at the end of the session.