Providing a defence of his utilitarian theory of morality, Mill argues the view that all human action should produce the greatest happiness overall, and that happiness itself is to be understood as consisting in ""higher"" and ""lower"" pleasures. This expanded edition includes the text of his 1868 speech to the British House of Commons defending the use of capital punishment in cases of aggravated murder. The speech is significant both because its topic remains timely and because its arguments illustrate the applicability of the principle of utility to questions of large-scale social policy. --Adapted from publisher description.