Problem

Here is the prompt:

In Chapter II of Utilitarianism, on page 10, Mill claims that "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied." What is utilitarianism, according to Mill, and what objection to utilitarianism is he trying to answer with this claim? What is Mill's argument for this claim, and how does it answer that objection? Is that answer persuasive? Discuss why or why not.

This assignment is intended primarily as an exercise in focused philosophical writing, and not as a test of how much of the course material you have mastered. So I will be interested mainly in how you structure your responses and in the depth of detail in your answers. Respond to the prompts as directly as you can, answer the prompts completely, focus on the points that are most necessary or fundamental to answering the prompts, and move from point to point in a structured fashion, so that earlier points support later ones. A good rule of thumb is to try to cover one distinct point in each paragraph.

Primarily, when you are evaluating arguments, it will be best to focus on one specific point rather than to raise multiple possible objections or problems. In other words, explain one potential problem, then discuss it in depth by, for example, considering how someone might try to answer that problem, and then discussing whether that answer seems convincing.