Ifsomethingbewantinginthisdefence，itmayperhapsbesuppliedfromMillhimself。Theimportanceofcultivatingasensitiveloveoftruthis，hesays，sogreatastopossessa’transcendentexpediency’72*nottobeviolatedbytemporaryconsiderations。WhendiscussingthequestionofjusticeMillinsistsupontheimportanceoftheconfidenceinourfellow-creaturesascorrespondingtothe’verygroundworkofourexistence。’Thegeneralrule，thatis，correspondstoanindividualqualitywhichisessentialtothesocialunion。A
strongsenseofveracityisunconditionallygood，thoughcircumstancesmayrequireexceptionstoanyrulewhenstatedintermsofoutwardconduct。Lyingmaybenecessary，butshouldalwaysbepainful。Thisisfamiliargroundonwhichitisneedlesstodwell。Butanothercriticismofthe’criterion’ismoreimportantandleadstooneofMill’smostcharacteristicarguments。Thegreatesthappinesscriterion，itisoftensaid，willbeinterpreteddifferentlyasmenformdifferentjudgmentsofwhatconstituteshappiness。The’felicificcalculus’willgivedifferentresultsforthephilosopherandtheclown，thesensualistandtheascetic，thesavageandthecivilisedman；anditispartoftheempiricistcontentionthatinfactthestandardhasvariedwidely。Millhimselfobserves，andheisonlyfollowingLocke73*andHume，’thatmoralityhasvariedwidely；
hasinsomecasessanctionedpracticesthemostrevolting’toothers，andthatthe’universalwillofmankindisuniversalonlyinitsdiscordance。’74*ItisindeedpreciselyforthatreasonthattheUtilitarianhasdefinedtoaccepttheauthorityofthe’moralsense’andappealedtofacts。Thebeliefthatourfeelingisright，simplybecauseitisours，isthe’mentalinfirmitywhichBentham’sphilosophytendstocorrectandDrWhewell’stoperpetuate。’75*Thatistosay，Benthamcanlaydownan’objectivecriterion’becausehecalculatesactualpainsandpleasures。Butwillnotthiscriterionbeafterall’subjective’
becauseourestimateofpainsandpleasuresissodiscordant？
Milltriestomeetthisbyafamousdistinctionbetweenthequalitiesofpleasures。Benthamhadinsistedthatonepleasurewasasgoodasanother。’Quantityofpleasurebeingequal，push-pinisasgoodaspoetry。’76*Millnowdeclaresthatitisquitecompatiblewiththeprincipleofutilitytorecognisethefactthatsomekindsofpleasurearemoredesirableandmorevaluablethanothers。’Wemustconsider’quality’aswellas’quantity。’77*The’onlycompetentjudges，’heargues，arethosewhohaveknownboth。Now，itisan’unquestionablefact’