Mill's Test for Qualitative Superiority

"If one of the two [pleasures] is, by those who are competently acquainted with both, placed so far above the other that they prefer it, even though knowing it to be attended with a great amount of discontent, and would not resign it for any quantity of the other pleasure which their nature is capable of, we are justified in ascribing to the preferred enjoyment a superiority in quality, so far outweighing quantity as to render it, in comparison, of small amount." (IP3 582bf)

If all (or almost all) competent judges

then pleasure A is qualitatively superior to pleasure B.


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Richard Lee, rlee@uark.edu, last modified: 26 September 2004