(P/B) UTILITARIANISM

Παρουσίαση

John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism is a philosophical defense of utilitarianism, a moral theory stating that right actions are those that tend to promote overall happiness. The essay first appeared as a series of articles published in Fraser's Magazine in 1861; the articles were collected and reprinted as a single book in 1863. Mill discusses utilitarianism in some of his other works, including On Liberty and The Subjection of Women, but Utilitarianism contains his only sustained defence of the theory.
In this edition, Colin Heydt provides a substantial introduction that will enable readers to understand better the polemical context for Utilitarianism. Heydt shows, for example, how Mill's moral philosophy grew out of political engagement, rather than exclusively out of a speculative interest in determining the nature of morality. Appendices include precedents to Mill's work, reactions to Utilitarianism, and related writings by Mill. (From the publisher)

Περιεχόμενα

Acknowledgments
Introduction
John Stuart Mill: A Brief Chronology
A Note on the Text
Utilitarianism
Appendix A: Precedents
From Seneca, "On Benefits" [excerpt]
From John Gay, "Preliminary Dissertation, Concerning the Fundamental Principle of Virtue or Morality"
From Joseph Butler, "Dissertation II: Of the nature of Virtue"
From Jeremy Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
From William Whewell, Lectures on the History of Moral Philosophy
From Thomas Carlyle, "Signs of the Times"
Appendix B: Mill on utilitarianism
From Autobiography
From Letters
From "Whewell on Moral Philosophy"
From "Auguste Comte and Positivism"
Appendix C: Reactions to Utilitarianism
From Henry Sidgwick, Methods of Ethics
From Henry Sidgwick, Outlines of the History of Ethics
From G.E. Moore, Principia Ethica
Select Bibliography