The Blackwell Guide to Mill's Utilitarianism

by West, Henry

• ISBN13: 9781405119498
• ISBN10: 1405119497
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• 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	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
The Background of Mill's Utilitarianism	p. 9
Mill's Life	p. 11
Bentham's Utilitarianism	p. 26
The Place of Utilitarianism in Mill's Philosophy	p. 45
The Complete Text of John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism	p. 61
General Remarks	p. 63
What Utilitarianism Is	p. 67
Of the Ultimate Sanction of the Principle of Utility	p. 83
Of What Sort of Proof the Principle of Utility is Susceptible	p. 90
On the Connection between Justice and Utility	p. 96
Essays on the Text	p. 115
Mill's Theory of Value	p. 117
Mill's Theory of Morally Correct Action	p. 139
Mill's Theory of Sanctions	p. 159
Mill's "Proof" of the Principle of Utility	p. 174
Mill's Theory of Rights	p. 184
Influence and Contemporary Issues	p. 199
Contemporary Criticisms of Utilitarianism: a Response	p. 201
The Scalar Approach to Utilitarianism	p. 217
Right, Wrong, and Rule-Consequentialism	p. 233
Some Implications of Utilitarianism for Practical Ethics: the Case against the Military Response to Terrorism	p. 249
Index	p. 270
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