How did John Stuart Mill change utilitarianism after Jeremy Bentham?

John Stuart Mill modified the utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham to address criticisms that the original theory was too narrow and crude. His primary changes included:12

• Quality of Pleasure: While both were hedonists, Mill distinguished between "higher" and "lower" qualities of pleasure. He famously argued it is "better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied," asserting that those who have experienced both types of pleasure prefer the higher quality.123
• Rule-Based Guidance: Mill argued against the need to calculate the utility of every individual action. Instead, he proposed that individuals should follow general moral principles—such as honesty and justice—that historically tend to increase overall happiness, only considering exceptions under special circumstances.12
• Moral Obligation: Mill refined the criteria for moral judgment, suggesting that actions should be classified as right or wrong only when the consequences are significant enough that society would wish to compel an agent to act in a specific way, rather than merely encouraging them.3