THE IDEA OF JUSTICE IN J.S. MILL AND KANT’S CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE

Abstract

The present research proposes to analyze the notion of justice in John Stuart Mill, in his work Utilitarianism, in dialogue with Immanuel Kant’s “categorical imperative” as exposed in the Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals. To do this, we will pursue a path of three moments. In the first, we shall present the meaning of “utilitarianism” and the idea of ​​justice in J.S. Mill. Next, we will briefly outline Immanuel Kant’s “categorical imperative”, an ethical theory opposed to “utilitarianism”. In the third instance, it will be demonstrated how the utilitarian concept of justice and Kant’s ethical theory both serve to answer some current moral dilemmas.