I think utilitarians sometimes confuse the notion of pleasure with the notion of satisfaction. In fact, the word “pleasure,” I fear, interferes with a deep understanding of utilitarian aims. Men seek satisfaction, not pleasure. Pleasure may satisfy, or it may not.
I am not intentionally using the word “satisfaction” in a fallacious, self-defining way. I have known people who were satisfied by the strangest of conditions. I have known some who overindulged in pleasure and lost the ability to experience its potency. If life consists of pursuing satisfaction, then one must begin by trying to understand its antithesis: What is it that promotes our dissatisfaction?
