on”#. In short, Bentham’s belief was that all individuals should pursue their personal happiness as long as it does not compromise the happiness of the community. J. S. Mill shared many of Bentham’s beliefs, but altered some to create a more sensitive version of utilitarianism. Mill argued that “Pleasure is the only thing desired; therefore pleasure is the only thing desirable”#. He believed that there were different sorts of pleasure: higher and lower, with higher being more desirable than lower pleasures. Bentham’s, and others’, simplistic forms of utilitarianism put all pleasures on an equal level, and are criticised because they ignore the subtleties of human existence. They reduce life to a “stark calculation of animal-like pleasures, with no concern for how these pleasures are produced”#. Mill’s higher and lower pleasures meet this criticism and he believes that “it is better to be a dissatisfied human being than a satisfied pig; and it is better to be a dissatisfied Socrates than a satisfied fool”#. He defines higher pleasures as intellectual pleasures (which pigs are not capable of) such as learning, and lower pleasures as physical, or sensual, pleasures, the desires that human beings share with animals. Mill believes that intellectual pleasures are more valuable and argues that “it is an unquestionable fact that those who are equally acquainted with and equally capable of appreciating and enjoying both do give a most marked preference to the manner of existence which employs their higher faculties. Few human creatures would consent to be changed into any of the lower animals for a promise of the fullest allowance of a beast’s pleasures...” (Utilitarianism, 1861). Despite Mill's contention that humans are motivated to act in a way that appeals to their more elevated faculties, it would appear that on a daily basis people relinquish their h...
