Breastfeeding In Public Analysis

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The issue analyzed by this paper is whether mothers should feel ashamed for breastfeeding their children in public. For example I had to feed my daughter in a smelly bathroom stall at a restaurant because it made other customers feel uncomfortable. I do not understand why it is okay for other woman to show their barely covered breast in public but when mothers do it to feed their child it is not okay, so I wonder if I should just ignore others because I am simply doing my job as a mother and using my breast for what they were made for. Breastfeeding in public is nothing but a natural and motherly practice. Bentham argues that we should maximize pleasure and minimize pain by using his theory of calculating happiness. He writes "Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure."(Bentham). This means that we will calculate who it will affect and who will benefit from these actions. We calculate pain versus pleasure. For example, I gave myself a +6 for certainty because I am certain that there will be a positive affect for my daughter being fed. I gave myself a -1 for fecundity because I know this action will cause some pain for others but the outcome of pleasure is much higher. I gave the visitors a -5…show more content…
He focuses more on happiness and unhappiness. He writes, "Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain and the privation of pleasure."(Mill 114). This means that pleasure can differ in quality and quantity, and those pleasures are rooted in ones higher abilities should be weighted more heavily than simple pleasures. For example, breastfeeding my daughter leads to a higher happiness for us but a pain to others who see. So, Mill’s point is try to act upon pleasure and not

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