Utilitarianism book club questions

1. 1.

   Mill says pleasures differ in quality, not just quantity, and that competent judges prefer higher pleasures. Does that criterion actually work, or is it circular?

2. 2.

   The greatest happiness principle asks us to count everyone equally. Does that demand feel like a moral improvement over common sense, or does it require ignoring things that matter?

3. 3.

   Mill's 'proof' — that happiness is desirable because it is desired — is often cited as a fallacy. Do you find the argument unconvincing? Does its failure damage the rest of the essay?

4. 4.

   Is there a version of justice that cannot be captured by utilitarian considerations? Think of a case where just treatment and maximum welfare point in different directions.

5. 5.

   Mill argues that secondary moral rules — honesty, promise-keeping — derive their authority from utility. Does deriving those rules from consequences make them more or less binding in your view?

6. 6.

   Bentham's version of utilitarianism counts pleasure quantitatively; Mill's adds quality. What is gained by the distinction, and what new problems does it introduce?

7. 7.

   If you accept that the goal of morality is to maximize welfare, what follows for how individuals should live, give, and vote? Does acting on that implication feel achievable?

8. 8.

   Mill says moral feelings can be cultivated. Is that a reassuring claim about the flexibility of moral psychology, or a troubling one about its malleability?

9. 9.

   Where does utilitarianism seem most compelling to you, and where does it seem to demand something morally intolerable?

10. 10.

    Mill wrote this essay partly to make utilitarianism respectable to people with strong intuitions about virtue and justice. Does he succeed in making the two compatible?

11. 11.

    Utilitarianism is the most influential framework in applied ethics today — used in policy analysis, medical ethics, and effective altruism. Does reading the original change how you evaluate those applications?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.