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Oak Trees versus Acorns: Which is better?
It has been argued for centuries now, that people do not grow their full human potential, largely because they do not participate in a reasonably sophisticated refinement . John Stuart Mill, in his book Utilitarianism, claims that "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied" [Mill JS: 1863]. This essay will show that the advantages of being a "human dissatisfied" are better than those of a "pig satisfied". But before this can be proven, we have to understand the metaphor that compares humans to pigs.

Mill compares two types of people: people who prefer to be "humans" according to his definition, and those that prefer to be "pigs". As pigs would ‘eat up' anything that comes their way, those who choose to live the life of the pig, accept all that they are exposed to. They live "unexamined lives" [Mill JS: 1863] in that they do not question anything, but rather accept all that they are told. A "human" on the other......

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Approximate Pages: 9 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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