Utilitarianism
Assigned by 3 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1861
- Form
- Treatise
- Language
- English
- Length
- Short · 120 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendUtilitarianismHackett, 2001George Sher's second edition prints the full text with useful notes and a short bibliography.
These links go straight to Amazon and Bookshop.org and earn this site nothing today. Prices are the same either way. How this works.
Five essays, first serialized in Fraser's Magazine, defending the greatest happiness principle: actions are right in proportion as they promote pleasure and the absence of pain. Mill answers the charge that this is a doctrine fit for swine by distinguishing higher from lower pleasures and appealing to the judgement of those who have known both. He explains what sanctions bind us to the principle, offers his notorious proof that happiness is the only thing desired for its own sake, and devotes the last and longest chapter to showing that justice can be accounted for in utilitarian terms.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Utilitarianism are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
