"All desirable things... are desirable either for the pleasure inherent in themselves, or as a means to the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain"
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Mill locates the standard of value in pleasure and the absence of pain, claiming that whatever people judge worth pursuing is either satisfying in its own right or functions to increase satisfaction and reduce suffering. This is the heart of his utilitarian hedonism: happiness, understood as pleasure and freedom from pain, is the only thing desirable as an end; everything else is desirable as a means or as a constituent of that end.
The line comes from his essay Utilitarianism, where he attempts a modest proof of the principle of utility. He argues that we know what is desirable by observing what people in fact desire, much as we call something visible when it can be seen. People desire happiness, not merely episodic pleasures but a life whose experiences are, on balance, satisfying. He then tackles apparent counterexamples. Virtue, knowledge, money, and power are often cherished for their own sake. Mill grants this but contends that when they are loved intrinsically they have become parts of a person's happiness. Their value does not rival happiness; it is absorbed into it.
He further refines hedonism by distinguishing higher from lower pleasures, insisting that the quality of pleasures matters, not just their quantity. Intellectual and moral enjoyments can be more valuable than base gratifications, because competent judges who have experienced both prefer them even at some cost.
The ethical upshot is sweeping: the rightness of actions, policies, and institutions should be assessed by their tendency to promote overall happiness and prevent suffering. Critics challenge the move from desire to desirability, raise worries about justice or the experience machine, and note that people sometimes choose what harms them. Mill responds that rights and justice are themselves grounded in their centrality to human happiness and that our everyday moral rules safeguard those deeper interests. The aspiration is a humane, empirically anchored standard: make the world better by increasing the kinds of well-being people actually live for.
The line comes from his essay Utilitarianism, where he attempts a modest proof of the principle of utility. He argues that we know what is desirable by observing what people in fact desire, much as we call something visible when it can be seen. People desire happiness, not merely episodic pleasures but a life whose experiences are, on balance, satisfying. He then tackles apparent counterexamples. Virtue, knowledge, money, and power are often cherished for their own sake. Mill grants this but contends that when they are loved intrinsically they have become parts of a person's happiness. Their value does not rival happiness; it is absorbed into it.
He further refines hedonism by distinguishing higher from lower pleasures, insisting that the quality of pleasures matters, not just their quantity. Intellectual and moral enjoyments can be more valuable than base gratifications, because competent judges who have experienced both prefer them even at some cost.
The ethical upshot is sweeping: the rightness of actions, policies, and institutions should be assessed by their tendency to promote overall happiness and prevent suffering. Critics challenge the move from desire to desirability, raise worries about justice or the experience machine, and note that people sometimes choose what harms them. Mill responds that rights and justice are themselves grounded in their centrality to human happiness and that our everyday moral rules safeguard those deeper interests. The aspiration is a humane, empirically anchored standard: make the world better by increasing the kinds of well-being people actually live for.
Quote Details
| Topic | Ethics & Morality |
|---|---|
| Source | John Stuart Mill — Utilitarianism (essay 1861; published in book form 1863). Contains the passage describing desirable things as valued for inherent pleasure or as means to promote pleasure and prevent pain. |
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