The Cambridge Companion to Utilitarianism

by Ben Eggleston (Editor), Dale E. Miller (Editor)

Utilitarianism, the approach to ethics based on the maximization of overall well-being, continues to have great traction in moral philosophy and political thought. This Companion offers a systematic exploration of its history, themes, and applications. First, it traces the origins and development of utilitarianism via the work of Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Henry Sidgwick, and others. The volume then explores issues in the formulation of utilitarianism, including act versus rule utilitarianism, actual versus expected consequences, and objective versus subjective theories of well-being. Next, utilitarianism is positioned in relation to Kantianism and virtue ethics, and the possibility of conflict between utilitarianism and fairness is considered. Finally, the volume explores the modern relevance of utilitarianism by considering its practical implications for contemporary controversies such as military conflict and global warming. The volume will be an important resource for all those studying moral philosophy, political philosophy, political theory, and history of ideas.

Genres: Philosophy

404 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 31, 2014

Reviews

[Billie Pritchett · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cambridge Companion to Utilitarianism is a good anthology of utilitarianism as it stands as a moral theory today. What's best about it is that you can see just how much utilitarianism has changed. It used to be focused on pleasure and pain and trying to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. The idea of human nature at the core has gotten more complex and nuanced. Now the idea is trying to maximize well-being, where well-being is supposed be those core features that help us flourish in life. And it goes to some length to talk about some of its practical applications.

(I'm going to have to start to write these reviews immediately after I read, so I don't forget stuff. Anyway, if you're interested in reading more about the particulars of some of these views, you can read about them on my blog, si hoc legere scis... . Otherwise, you can read the book for yourself. It's a good one.)