Rule utilitarianism emphasizes it is the consequences of instituting a practice that have to be looked at and evaluated. It is indisputable that the being whose capacities of enjoyment are low, has the greatest chance of having them fully satisfied. John stuart mill utilitarianism john stuart mill 1806 1873 was one of the most influential liberal thinkers of the 19th century. Click here for our current phone hours and other contact information. In john stuart mills book utilitarianism, he argues for the defense of utilitarianism, an age old theory originally developed by jeremy bentham that states the proper course of action is the one that maximizes happiness. These are the sources and citations used to research utilitarianism.
Examples of utilitarian ethics one example of utilitarianism in business is the practice of having tiered pricing for a product or service to different types of customers. The very best introduction to utilitarianism is found in shaw 1999. John stuart mills book utilitarianism is a classic exposition and defence of utilitarianism in. John stuart mill utilitarianism essay example topics and. An introduction some things appear to be straightforwardly. Utilitarianism was developed in the 18th century by hutchenson, who used the phrase the greatest good for the greatest number to describe his theory. Utilitarianisms overall purpose is to serve the greater majority and this paper sets out to prove that. Further, these arguments would be analysed to find the reasoning behind such negation of inclusion of utilitarianism in education. Apa intext citation style uses the authors last name and the year of publication, for example. The philosophy of consequentialism is based on the belief that the moral and ethical value of ones action should be judged by the consequence of such action.
This page reflects the latest version of the apa publication manual i. In this video, i take a look at john stuart mills utilitarianism. This bibliography was generated on cite this for me on monday, january 12, 2015. Utilitarianism is a simple philosophy, which essentially boils down to one principle. Utilitarianism meaning of utilitarianism by lexico. Brief outline of the standard accounts of value, focusing on utilitarianism. In the first part of the book, professor smart advocates a modern and. In this edition of mills essay, colin heydt situates the work in its historical context by supplementing the text of the essay with appendices containing excerpts of related works by mills. Utilitarianism9 formula should be correctly understood. If you used an ereader, you should still include the url that you retrieved the book from, for example, view our visual citation guide on how to cite a book in apa format. The early parts of rousseaussocial contract,for example, read better as moral than as political philosophy, not that the two should be wholly separated.
The theme of utilitarianism, happiness, and the good life. For a complete list of how to cite print sources, please refer to the 7 th edition of the apa. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different characterizations, the basic idea behind all of them is to in some sense maximize utility, which is often defined in terms of wellbeing or related concepts. Originally printed as a series of three articles in frasers magazine in 1861, the work sought to refine the greatest happiness principle that had been championed by jeremy bentham 17481832. This paper will discuss many major points in utilitarianism such as. Utilitarianism by john stuart mill cambridge university press. A closing section provides a brief introduction to indirect utilitarianism i. Test 3 hospers etc i hospers a rule utilitarianism. Utilitarianism sociology bibliographies cite this for me. Utilitarianism news, research and analysis the conversation. Rule utilitarianism holds that a behavioral code or rule is morally right if the consequences of adopting that rule are more favorable than unfavorable to everyone. But both hold equally that morality must be deduced from prin ciples. A utilitarian would consider any action justified if it benefits the greatest number of people.
Utilitarianism, in normative ethics, a tradition stemming from the late 18th and 19thcentury english philosophers and economists jeremy bentham and john. Jeremy bentham, english philosopher, economist, and theoretical jurist, the earliest and chief expounder of utilitarianism, which states that an action is right if it tends to promote happiness and wrong if it tends to produce the reverse of happiness. Reconciling the contradictions of mills preferencebased utilitarianism. The idea of utilitarianism is tightly intertwined with the philosophy of consequentialism.
Utilitarianism john stuart mill mcmaster faculty of. Utilitarianism is one of the main schools of thought in modern ethics also known as moral philosophy. For example, gay was curious about how to explain our practice of approbation and disapprobation of action and character. Driver 2010 and schneewind 1977 provide useful accounts. According to the other doctrine, right and wrong, utilitarianism 7 as well as truth and falsehood, are questions of observation and experi ence. Harvard book store is temporarily closed to the public through at least monday, may 18th. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of utilitarianism by john stuart mill.
Mill defines utilitarianism as a theory based on the principle that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. The course of action that maximizes general happiness is also the only true standard for moral assessment. The theory of utilitarianism explained with examples. I believe that the very imperfect notion ordinarily formed of its meaning, is the chief obstacle which impedes its reception. Mills aim in the book is to explain what utilitarianism is, to show why it is the best. This book has been cited by the following publications. Bernard williams this title consists of two essays on utilitarianism, written from opposite points of view, by j. Jeremy bentham in his book, a fragment of government, states the most fundamental axiom of utilitarianism, it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number.
Utilitarianism defined, is the contention that a man should judge everything based on the ability to promote the greatest individual happiness. Cambridge core philosophy texts utilitarianism by john stuart mill. Utilitarianism second edition john stuart mill, george. Utilitarianism, in normative ethics, a tradition stemming from the late 18th and 19thcentury english philosophers and economists jeremy bentham and john stuart mill according to which an action is right if it tends to promote happiness and wrong if it tends to produce the reverse of happiness.
Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. For example, the airline industry offers first class, business class and economy class seats on many of their airplanes. Utilitarianism and other essays harvard book store. This philosophy states that the morality of an action is best judged by the utility or. Described in this way, utilitarianism has little in common with the prosaic, visionless notion of the merely utilitarian, in the sense of a narrowly or mundanely functional or efficient option. I found that this book was helpful and a good alternative to personally checking out the book from a library. Thus, for example, if you gain some pleasure from spending money on a new book. John stuart mills book utilitarianism is a classic exposition and defence of utilitarianism in ethics. Utilitarianism other bibliographies cite this for me. Utilitarianism is the moral doctrine that we should always act to produce the greatest possible balance of good over bad for everyone affected by our actions 9. The largest public housing complex in the country, queensbridge houses, is located near the spot where amazon plans to put a new headquarters.
On liberty, the subjection of women and utilitarianism. Utilitarian ethics would show us murdering the homeless and dispossessed provides us a steady stream of donor organs. Librivox recording of utilitarianism, by john stuart mill. English philosopher and social reformer john stuart mill was one of the major intellectual figures of the 19th century and a founding member of the utilitarian society. The classical utilitarians, jeremy bentham and john stuart mill, identified the good. Utilitarianism john stuart mill batoche books faculty of social. John stuart mills book utilitarianism is one of the most influential and widelyread philosophical defenses of utilitarianism in ethics. Together with pettit 1991, an ideal brief introduction. Harvard book store 1256 massachusetts avenue cambridge, ma 028. Argues that the utility principle is a sound basis for public rather than private choice. Mills book utilitarianism is a classic exposition and defense of utilitarianism in ethics. Mills aim in the book is to explain what utilitarianism is, to show why it is the. Rule utilitarianism is needed to correct for the problems with act utilitarianism that his examples show.
Utilitarianisms name comes from the concept of utility, which is synonymous with the collective happiness of all people. Problem with act util lots of cases babe ruth when act util contradicts moral intuitions 1. Add doi digital object identifier if it is available after at the end of the citation instead of url. Utilitarianism, john stuart mill john stuart mills book utilitarianism is a classic exposition and defense of utilitarianism in ethics. For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example. Because utilitarianism is a work of enduring value, it is easy to forget that mill meant for it to be a topical and relevant contribution to the moral debates of his time. Buy utilitarianism by mill, john stuart, sher, george isbn. The equivalent resource for the older apa 6 style can be found here. In the following excerpt from his long philosophical essay utilitarianism, mill relies on strategies of classification and division to defend the utilitarian doctrine that. This list is generated based on data provided by crossref. His idea of utilitarianism, however, seeks to find a rational means of assessing how best to put this promotion of happiness into practice, and is split into two types. Utilitarianism essays are academic essays for citation. Ethical consequentialism philosophy oxford bibliographies.
For one thing, the criterion dispute includes a dispute about whether. Utilitarianism, by john stuart mill, is an essay written to provide support for the value of utilitarianism as a moral theory, and to respond to misconceptions about it. Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book. He was an advocate of utilitarianism, which states that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness. Utilitarianism is a family of consequentialist ethical theories that promotes actions that maximize happiness and wellbeing for the affected individuals. 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 largescale social policy. For sources such as websites and ebooks that have no page numbers, use a paragraph number. This entry will examine mills contributions to the utilitarian and liberal traditions. This expanded edition of john stuart mills utilitarianism includes the text of his 1868 speech to the british house of commons defending the use of capital punishment in cases of aggravated murder. Reissued here in its corrected second edition of 1864, this essay by john stuart mill 180673 argues for a utilitarian theory of morality.
The work is summarized with reference to jeremy bentham and ursula k. The essay first appeared as a series of three articles published in frasers magazine in 1861 vol. Many philosophers have argued that utilitarianism is an unacceptable moral. Utilitarianism 1861, cited as u and on liberty 1859, cited as ol. The essay first appeared as a series of three articles published in frasers magazine in 1861. The history of utilitarianism stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. No such limited horizon confined the thought and character of the great englishlanguage. This bibliography was generated on cite this for me on friday, january 9, 2015. Mills moral and political philosophy stanford encyclopedia of. Utilitarianism free essay examples and research papers.
1470 1623 905 1017 988 1614 1508 801 936 1565 1435 984 1591 1201 89 623 1043 964 1631 213 68 537 566 148 478 1086 1410 1108 1572 1055 1496 1500 1 1298 1249 138 924 353 1488 1261 54 927 749 589 558