Lesson · 4 min Steady
Higher and Lower Pleasures
In one line Pleasures differ in quality as well as amount, and those who know both tend to prefer the richer kind.
Bentham counted pleasures by amount: how intense, how long. Mill thought that left something out. Some pleasures, such as learning, friendship and art, are of a higher quality than others, such as idle amusement, even when the amount is the same.
His test was to ask people who know both. If those who have tried both prefer one, even when it comes with more discomfort, that one is higher. He wrote that it is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.
Critics say the test favors the tastes of educated people. It is still a useful question for your own life: which of my pleasures would I keep if I knew the others well, and am I making room for them?
The evening choice
Eli spends most evenings on easy games. A friend invites him to a beginners’ chess club, where he loses often and feels frustrated.
After two months he prefers chess nights to the easy games, though they are harder. He also notes that he had not known chess well enough to choose before. Mill would call chess the higher pleasure for him, based on what Eli himself now chooses.
Try this today List two pleasures from your week and ask which a person who knew both would choose.
Cite or share this lesson
A plain reference you can paste into notes or an essay:
Quest2Reason. “Higher and Lower Pleasures.” https://quest2reason.com/learn/lesson/higher-and-lower-pleasures. Accessed 13 November 2026.
Sources
- John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism (1863) — The statement of the principle of utility and Mill’s replies to common objections. Paraphrased; no quotation beyond the famous line on the school’s page.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “The History of Utilitarianism” — From Bentham and Mill to modern forms, with the main objections.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Jeremy Bentham” — Bentham’s principle of utility and his rule that each counts for one.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “John Stuart Mill” — Mill’s distinction between higher and lower pleasures.