Name: Utilitarianism
Price: 616.00 TWD
Availability: InStock
Author: John Stuart Mill
ISBN: 9781725051911

Type

Physical Book

Author

John Stuart Mill

Publisher

Createspace

Language

English

Pages

Format

Paperback

Dimensions

27.9 x 21.6 x 0.2 cm

Weight

0.12 kg.

ISBN13

9781725051911

Synopsis "Utilitarianism"

Mill took many elements of his version of utilitarianism from Jeremy Bentham, the great nineteenth-century legal reformer, who along with William Paley were the two most influential English utilitarians prior to Mill. Like Bentham, Mill believed that happiness (or pleasure, which both Bentham and Mill equated with happiness) was the only thing humans do and should desire for its own sake. Since happiness is the only intrinsic good, and since more happiness is preferable to less, the goal of the ethical life is to maximize happiness. This is what Bentham and Mill call "the principle of utility" or "the greatest-happiness principle." Both Bentham and Mill thus endorse "classical" or "hedonistic" forms of utilitarianism. More recent utilitarians often deny that happiness is the sole intrinsic good, arguing that a variety of values and consequences should be considered in ethical decision making. Although Mill agreed with Bentham about many of the foundational principles of ethics, he also had some major disagreements. In particular, Mill tried to develop a more refined form of utilitarianism that would harmonize better with ordinary morality and highlight the importance in the ethical life of intellectual pleasures, self-development, high ideals of character, and conventional moral rules.

John Stuart Mill

(Author)

View Author's Page

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was a British philosopher, economist, and politician, considered a key figure in liberalism and utilitarianism. Influenced by Jeremy Bentham and his father, James Mill, he wrote extensively on freedom, economy, and social justice. Among his most notable works are On Liberty (1859), where he defends individual rights against state control, and Utilitarianism (1863), where he develops this philosophical current.

His work also covered political economy with Principles of Political Economy (1848) and the philosophy of law with Representative Government (1861). Additionally, in The Subjection of Women (1869) he advocated for gender equality. His thinking continues to influence contemporary political philosophy and social theory.

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