Will and Promoting Greater Happiness

Mill often seems to insist that his Utilitarianism is a descriptive theory, not a prescriptive doctrine. Nevertheless, implicit in his efforts to explain that the 'Good' is the 'greatest happiness for the 'greatest number, is the presumption that awareness of the correct thesis of the true nature of the Good conduces to the promotion of that Good. Now, it seems unlikely that he believes that such knowledge qua merely theoretical suffices to that end. Hence, he must project that the value of his thesis is practical, i. e. that it consists in its potential influence on behavior. Furthermore, insofar as his concept of Utilitarianism rivals that of Bentham, i. e. the thesis that one must promote one's own happiness, the influence on behavior that Mill projects must entail extending oneself, beyond one's self-interest, to that of others. But, Will is the other-oriented principle of Experience. Hence, Mill's Utilitarianism formulates a cultivation of Will.