It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.
John Stuart Mill Utilitarianism, Chapter II, What Utilitarianism Is (1863)
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When and why it was written
- When
- From Utilitarianism, published in 1863.
- Why
- Mill is answering critics who said his ethics valued only crude pleasure.
What it means
Mill argues that some pleasures are higher than others, and that anyone who has known both would choose the higher, even with discontent.
Restlessness is sometimes a sign of a larger life, not a failing one.
Our reading of the passage cited above, not a quotation from a commentary.
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Utilitarianism, 1863
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