1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910450262003321

Autore

Rosen F.

Titolo

Classical utilitarianism from Hume to Mill / / Frederick Rosen

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London ; ; New York : , : Routledge, , 2003

ISBN

1-134-59910-2

1-280-11278-6

0-203-98735-7

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (299 p.)

Collana

Routledge studies in ethics and moral theory ; ; 2

Disciplina

171/.5

Soggetti

Utilitarianism

Justice (Philosophy)

Liberty

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 264-279) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; CLASSICAL UTILITARIANISM FROM HUME TO MILL; Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; Preface; Abbreviations; 1 Introduction; The aims of the book; Some notes for moral philosophers; A briefer note for political and legal theorists; PART I; 2 Utility and justice: Epicurus and the Epicurean tradition; Epicurus and ancient Epicureanism; Gassendi and modern Epicureanism; Gassendi's influence; Epicureanism in Grotius and Pufendorf; 3 Reading Hume backwards: Utility as the foundation of morals; Utility in the Enquiry and Treatise; The foundational role of utility

Benevolence, justice and utilityUtility and morality; Enquiry versus Treatise; Hume and Bentham; 4 The idea of utility in Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments; Utility and justice; Smith and Hume on justice; Smith on utility: illusion and reality; Smith, Hume, and philosophical systems; Smith and Bentham; 5 Helvétius, the Scottish Enlightenment, and Bentham's idea of utility; Hume, Smith, and Helvétius; The role of the legislator; Utility and virtue; Helvétius and Bentham; De l'homme; Conclusion; 6 The idea of utility in Smith's Wealth of Nations; The 'invisible hand'

Unintended consequences and the division of labourLiberty; Labour,



liberty, and the progressive state; 7 Bentham and Smith on liberty; The opposition to Bentham; Defence of Usury and Bentham's other writings; Bentham's critique of Smith; Bentham's title; 8 William Paley as a utilitarian; Utility; Liberty; Conclusion; 9 Liberty, utility, and the reform of the criminal law; Liberty and the criminal law; Crime and punishment in Beccaria; Bentham's theory of proportion; The debate over the death penalty; Transportation and imprisonment; Enlightenment and reform; 10 J.S. Mill's hedonism

Mill and CarlyleThe Epicurean tradition; Quantity and quality; Socrates dissatisfied; 11 J.S. Mill on justice and liberty; Justice and utility; Justice and liberty; Liberty and the fragility of truth; PART II; 12 Punishment of the innocent; The idealist background; The post-utilitarian paradigm; The rejection of utilitarianism; 13 Individual sacrifice and the greatest happiness; Bentham's ultimate principle; The status of pleasure and pain; Secondary principles and rights; Maximize and minimize; Equality and rights in Bentham and Mill; 14 The tyranny of the majority

Majorities and minorities in practiceInterests, security, and equality; Popular sovereignty and majority rule; Democratic despotism; Tyranny of the majority; 15 Negative liberty; Negative liberty in Hobbes and Bentham; Bentham and Berlin on civil and political liberty; Liberty and democracy; Negative liberty worth fighting for; Notes; Bibliography; Index

Sommario/riassunto

This book presents a new interpretation of the principle of utility in moral and political theory based on the writings of the classical utilitarians from Hume to J.S. Mill. Discussion of utility in writers such as Adam Smith, William Paley and Jeremy Bentham is included.