Review:
When I research about the meaning of utilitarianism, I found out that utilitarianism means “a doctrine that the useful is the good and that the determining consideration of right conduct should be the usefulness of its consequences; specifically: a theory that the aim of action should be the largest possible balance of pleasure over pain or the greatest happiness of the greatest number.” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Utilitarianism)
For John Stuart Mill, utilitarianism means that a person should act to have a result of good consequence for the greatest number of people but within reason. There was one statement in the article that says, “If I am asked, what I mean by difference of quality in pleasures, or what makes one pleasure more valuable than another, merely as a pleasure, except its being greater in amount there is but one possible answer.” For me, what makes one pleasure more valuable than another can be determined whether you are contended with the pleasure or not. It’s like which of the 2 pleasures makes you contended more. Maybe for example, playing actual basketball or playing basketball in the computer. You both get the pleasure doing both acts but you could be more contended if you play actual basketball because you are the one actually playing, and you could feel the excitement when playing. Unlike playing basketball in the computer, yes you do feel pleasure but you can’t really feel the contentment because you are not really the one playing but you are just controlling the player.
