The Blackwell Guide to Mill's Utilitarianism

by West, Henry

• ISBN13: 9781405119481
• ISBN10: 1405119489
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-01-23
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

This Blackwell Guide is an ideal commentary for students on Mill's Utilitarianism. It is written by specialists at the cutting edge of philosophical scholarship in a style that is accessible to readers coming to Mill's classic statement for the first time. The Guide contains the complete text of Utilitarianism and twelve related essays. Three of these are background essays, designed to acquaint the reader with Mill's life, his philosophical influences, and the place of Utilitarianism in Mill's overall philosophy. Five are analyses of the arguments in Utilitarianism, and include discussion of some of the most disputed points in interpretation. A final section of four essays addresses some contemporary debates within the utilitarian tradition. The last of these examines the implications of utilitarianism for practical ethics, taking as a case study the application of utilitarian theory to military or non-violent responses to terrorism.

Author Biography

Henry R. West is Professor of Philosophy at Macalester College, St Paul, Minnesota. He is the author of An Introduction to Mill’s Utilitarian Ethics (2004), Moral Philosophy: Classic Texts and Contemporary Problems (1977), and articles in journals and encyclopedias on John Stuart Mill and Utilitarianism.

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors	vii
Introduction	1	(8)
PART I THE BACKGROUND OF MILL'S UTILITARIANISM	9	(52)
Mill's Life	11	(15)
Susan Leigh Anderson
Bentham's Utilitarianism	26	(19)
Gerald J. Postema
The Place of Utilitarianism in Mill's Philosophy	45	(16)
John Skorupski
PART II THE COMPLETE TEXT OF JOHN STUART MILL'S UTILITARIANISM	61	(54)
General Remarks	63	(4)
What Utilitarianism Is	67	(16)
Of the Ultimate Sanction of the Principle of Utility	83	(7)
Of What Sort of Proof the Principle of Utility is Susceptible	90	(6)
On the Connection between Justice and Utility	96	(19)
PART III ESSAYS ON THE TEXT	115	(84)
Mill's Theory of Value	117	(22)
Wendy Donner
Mill's Theory of Morally Correct Action	139	(20)
Alan E. Fuchs
Mill's Theory of Sanctions	159	(15)
Dale E. Miller
Mill's ``Proof'' of the Principle of Utility	174	(10)
Henry R. West
Mill's Theory of Rights	184	(15)
L. W. Sumner
PART IV INFLUENCE AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES	199	(71)
Contemporary Criticisms of Utilitarianism: a Response	201	(16)
William H. Shaw
The Scalar Approach to Utilitarianism	217	(16)
Alastair Norcross
Right, Wrong, and Rule-Consequentialism	233	(16)
Brad Hooker
Some Implications of Utilitarianism for Practical Ethics: the Case against the Military Response to Terrorism	249	(21)
Bart Gruzalski
Index	270