Q0083

John Stuart Mill

A verified English rendering from the curated archive.

English

It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.
Thinker John Stuart Mill
School Utilitarianism
Source Utilitarianism
Theme Happiness
Another quotation More from this thinker

Source context

This English passage is associated with Utilitarianism, within the tradition of Utilitarianism. The wording below is a verified rendering prepared for careful reading rather than a claim of unique translation authority.

A short reading

Read in the register of happiness, the sentence asks the reader to test an assumption rather than to collect a slogan. In John Stuart Mill's wider work, similar claims are usually offered as prompts for judgment: what would have to be true for the sentence to hold, and what would follow if it did?

How to cite this quotation

APA: John Stuart Mill. (n.d.). It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0083

MLA: John Stuart Mill. “It is better to be a human being….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0083.

Chicago: John Stuart Mill. “It is better to be a human being….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0083.

Same thinker

More from John Stuart Mill

  1. The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs.
  2. The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.
  3. He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.
  4. It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied.
  5. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.

All quotations by John Stuart Mill

Same theme

More on happiness

  1. The human good is activity of soul in accordance with virtue.
  2. Of all that wisdom provides for the happiness of a whole life, by far the greatest is the possession of friendship.
  3. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.
  4. The secret of happiness is this: let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions…be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile.
  5. Next to worry, probably one of the most potent causes of unhappiness is envy.

Browse the happiness theme