Utilitarianism is a consequentialist
ethical theory. Utilitarianism is usually connected
with the more specific doctrines of Bentham and
Mill, who took the goodness of consequences to be
measured by their effect on the happiness or welfare
of sentient creatures. (This is sometimes referred to
as the principle of Utility
or the Greatest Happiness
Principle.) Bentham focused on pleasure, Mill on a
more abstract notion of happiness that allowed him
to maintain that “It is better to be a human being
dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates
dissatisfied than a pig satisfied.” For further discussion,
see the Introduction to Part V.