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Is It Better to Be a Human Dissatisfied Than a Pig Satisfied

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Is It Better to Be a Human Dissatisfied Than a Pig Satisfied
Oak Trees versus Acorns: Which is better?
It has been argued for centuries now, that people do not grow their full human potential, largely because they do not participate in a reasonably sophisticated refinement . John Stuart Mill, in his book Utilitarianism, claims that "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied" [Mill JS: 1863]. This essay will show that the advantages of being a "human dissatisfied" are better than those of a "pig satisfied". But before this can be proven, we have to understand the metaphor that compares humans to pigs.

Mill compares two types of people: people who prefer to be "humans" according to his definition, and those that prefer to be "pigs". As pigs would ‘eat up' anything that comes their way, those who choose to live the life of the pig, accept all that they are exposed to. They live "unexamined lives" [Mill JS: 1863] in that they do not question anything, but rather accept all that they are told. A "human" on the other hand, doesn't just accept everything, but questions what there are exposed to. This type of person lives an examined life, and it is that life that Mill proposes that we should strive for.

But besides this fact, pigs and humans do have something in common. This is consciousness, as both humans and pigs are aware of their surroundings and can interact with their environments by basic instinct. This common factor helps in making an intelligent comparison between the two. The consciousness though, that they both have, is of a different character. A human's consciousness has character, and can be broken up into three main faculties. Firstly a human has conscience: the ‘inner voice' that tells between right and wrong. Secondly a human has free will, in that humans can override instinct in order to make "free" choices. Thirdly, a human has reasoning skills, which enable humans to evaluate situations and reach conclusions. In the pig's regard, it is a lack of this character that


References: 1. Bramann, J. 2003: Educating Rita and Other Philosophical Movies. [Online]. Available: Website [31 March 2006] http://faculty.frostburg.edu/phil/forum/Mill.htm 2. Mill, JS. 1863: Utilitarianism. [Online] Available: Website [31 March 2006] http://www.utilitarianism.com/mill2.htm 3. Schumacher, ER. 1977: [Online]. Available: Website [31 March 2006] http://www.brainyquote.com/quote/authors/e/e f schumacher.html
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