Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

How did John Stuart Mill modify classical utilitarianism compared to Jeremy Bentham?

MCQ

MCQ Answer

A. By rejecting the greatest-happiness principle in favor of deontological rules.
B. By introducing qualitative distinctions among pleasures, arguing some pleasures are higher than others. Correct

Explanation

Mill retained the greatest-happiness principle but argued that intellectual and moral pleasures are qualitatively superior to mere bodily pleasures.

C. By grounding morality in divine commands rather than consequences.
D. By asserting that individual rights always outweigh aggregate utility.

Correct Answer

By introducing qualitative distinctions among pleasures, arguing some pleasures are higher than others.