Socrates and the Fool

In his piece about utilitarianism, Mill declares that “the ultimate end… whether we are considering our own good or that of other people, is an existence exempt as far as possible from pain, and as rich as possible in enjoyments.” Recalling that he earlier defines happiness as “intended pleasure and the absence of pain,” we reach his conclusion that the purpose of life is to attain as much happiness as possible. Mills offers two manners of existence: the beings of higher and lower faculties, or conversely the intelligent individual and the ignoramus. While he argues that it is “better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied,” I disagree.

In Mill’s argument, he implies that knowledge is better than satisfaction. Perhaps he would argue that this is so because knowledge is a higher quality pleasure and would always be chosen over satisfaction. This view is contingent upon acceptance of the existence of higher quality pleasures, which I do not strongly uphold.  While some pleasures are better than others (such as making someone happy versus enjoying a second helping of dessert), the more abstract a topic becomes, the larger the grey area becomes. In this instance, it cannot be clearly decided whether knowledge or satisfaction is the higher quality pleasure. Such things are decided upon by the individual, and one cannot assume there would be a large enough difference of opinion in popular choice on this matter to definitely determine the better of the two.

While the attainment of knowledge can be a satisfying venture, it is a journey that is never completed, and it comes at a risk. One can attest that achieving a goal is a satisfying accomplishment. However, in the pursuit of knowledge, there is never an end goal to be completed; not all knowledge in a topic can ever be acquired. Although one may achieve goals along the way, there will always be several more goals to complete. Thus, any satisfaction and happiness attained is fleeting, and the resulting dissatisfaction would drive the educated individual to try to grasp at knowledge again. On the other hand, one may acquire knowledge that is displeasing and causes extended pain, which directly hinders one’s completion of the ultimate goal. In some instances, said knowledge may be so spiritually crippling that one may never recover.

Contrarily, if one is satisfied, one has had one’s required fill of a thing, and thus has reached one’s intended pleasure. For the satisfied fool, there is no drive to seek more knowledge, and while none is gained for him/her, none is lost either. Having achieved or accepted what one has and knows, one is not pained by one’s lack of intelligence. Perhaps the inferior individual, being foolish, believes that all s/he knows is all there is to know or all that there is worth knowing, thus reaching another intended pleasure and enjoying an absence of pain. As a result, the person of lower faculties is happy and, by consequence, has achieved the desired goal of attaining happiness.