Amazon cover image
Image from Amazon.com

Utilitarianism

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextSeries: Macat library critical thinking seriesPublication details: Routledge 2017 LondonDescription: 83 pISBN:
  • 9781912127832
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 171.5 T6U8
Summary: John Stuart Mill’s 1861 Utilitarianism remains one of the most widely known and influential works of moral philosophy ever written. It is also a model of critical thinking – one in which Mill’s reasoning and interpretation skills are used to create a well-structured, watertight, persuasive argument for his position on core questions in ethics. The central question, for Mill, was to decide upon a valid definition of right and wrong, and reason out his moral theory from there. Laying down valid, defensible definitions is a crucial aspect of good interpretative thinking, and Mill gets his in as early as possible. Actions are good, he suggests, if they increase happiness, and bad if they reduce happiness. But, vitally, it is not our own happiness that matters, but the total happiness of all those affected by a given action. From this interpretation of moral good, Mill is able to systematically reason out a coherent framework for calculating and judging overall happiness, while considering different kinds and qualities of happiness. Like any good example of reasoning, Mill’s argument consistently takes account of possible objections, building them into the structure of the book in order to acknowledge and counter them as he goes. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/search?key=Utilitarianism
List(s) this item appears in: MACAT Library Series
Tags from this library: No tags from this library for this title. Log in to add tags.
Star ratings
    Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)
Holdings
Item type Current library Item location Collection Shelving location Call number Status Date due Barcode
Books Vikram Sarabhai Library Rack 6-A / Slot 175 (0 Floor, West Wing) Non-fiction General Stacks 171.5 T6U8 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 196633

John Stuart Mill’s 1861 Utilitarianism remains one of the most widely known and influential works of moral philosophy ever written. It is also a model of critical thinking – one in which Mill’s reasoning and interpretation skills are used to create a well-structured, watertight, persuasive argument for his position on core questions in ethics.

The central question, for Mill, was to decide upon a valid definition of right and wrong, and reason out his moral theory from there. Laying down valid, defensible definitions is a crucial aspect of good interpretative thinking, and Mill gets his in as early as possible. Actions are good, he suggests, if they increase happiness, and bad if they reduce happiness.

But, vitally, it is not our own happiness that matters, but the total happiness of all those affected by a given action. From this interpretation of moral good, Mill is able to systematically reason out a coherent framework for calculating and judging overall happiness, while considering different kinds and qualities of happiness.

Like any good example of reasoning, Mill’s argument consistently takes account of possible objections, building them into the structure of the book in order to acknowledge and counter them as he goes.

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/search?key=Utilitarianism

There are no comments on this title.

to post a comment.