Question

Which one of the following describes a major difference between Bentham's and Mill's ethics?

1) Mill believed an action could produce the best consequences and still be immoral
2) Bentham said that pleasure is the only desirable end and Mill denied this
3) Bentham's was a quantitative hedonism and Mill held to a qualitative hedonism
4) Mill's ethics was concerned with the greatest happiness for all and Bentham's ethics was concerned only with the happiness of the individual

Answer 1

A significant difference between Bentham's and Mill's utilitarian ethics is that Bentham's approach is quantitative hedonism, while Mill introduces qualitative hedonism, differentiating between higher and lower pleasures.

Step-by-step explanation:

Which one of the following describes a major difference between Bentham's and Mill's ethics? The most accurate description of a major difference between Jeremy Bentham's and John Stuart Mill's approach to ethics is that Bentham's philosophy was a form of quantitative hedonism, whereas Mill introduced a notion of qualitative hedonism. Bentham believed that pleasures only differ in terms of quantity, such as intensity and duration, without any qualitative distinctions. On the other hand, Mill believed that pleasures can be qualitatively different. He distinguished between higher pleasures, involving intellectual and moral faculties, and lower pleasures that are more physical and transient.

Jeremy Bentham, who developed the principle of utility, articulated a form of utilitarianism where the moral value of an action is determined by how much pleasure it produces. In contrast, John Stuart Mill refined this to suggest that not all pleasures are of equal worth and that the quality of pleasure should also be considered when evaluating an action's moral worth. Therefore, the main distinction between the two philosophers' approaches lies in Mill's addition of qualitative measures to the utilitarian calculus.