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    Mill himself distinguishes higher from lower pleasures by... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Actions and activities can have only extrinsic value, not intrinsic value.

    Mill himself distinguishes higher from lower pleasures by the quality of the activity producing them, implicitly grounding value in the nature of the activity itself.

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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Mill explicitly states competent judges prefer intellectual pleasures, showing he values the activity's inherent quality, not just intensity.
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    • 2.If value derived solely from pleasure quantity, there'd be no rational basis for Mill's claim that poetry beats pushpin—activity quality must matter.
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    • 3.Mill's distinction requires something beyond subjective feeling; grounding value in activity nature explains why some pursuits are objectively superior.
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    Reasons Against

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    • 1.Mill ultimately defines value through pleasure experience, not activity itself; he values reading because it produces superior pleasure, not vice versa.
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    • 2.Grounding value in activity nature invites the question: what makes activities valuable? This risks abandoning hedonism for a competing value theory.
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    • 3.Mill could maintain his distinctions by arguing higher pleasures are simply more intense or durable—no need to ground value in activity nature itself.
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    Related

    Actions and activities can have only extrinsic value, not intrinsic value.Grounding value in activity nature invites the question: what makes activities v...If value derived solely from pleasure quantity, there'd be no rational basis for...Mill could maintain his distinctions by arguing higher pleasures are simply more...
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    Mill explicitly states competent judges prefer intellectual pleasures, showing h...Mill ultimately defines value through pleasure experience, not activity itself; ...Mill's distinction requires something beyond subjective feeling; grounding value...

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    claim
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    2 (1 for, 1 against)
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