Search results for: 'The Classical Utilitarians'

This volume includes the complete texts of two of John Stuart Mill’s most important works, Utilitarianism and On Liberty, and selections from his other writings, including the complete text of his “Remarks on Bentham’s Philosophy.” The selection from Mill’s “A System of Logic” is of special relevance to the debate between those who read Mill as an Act-Utilitarian and those who interpret him as a Rule-Utilitarian. Also included are selections from the writings of Jeremy Bentham, founder of modern Utilitarianism and mentor (together with James Mill) of John Stuart Mill.

"Eggleston has produced easily the best edition of Utilitarianism available. By conveniently including so many of the relevant passages from supplementary works, all organized for ease of reference, scholars and students alike will now have at their fingertips the materials needed to make sense of Mill's classic text. This is important not just for an accurate understanding of Mill's own moral and political philosophy, but for a proper appreciation of utilitarianism as a leading moral tradition."  —Piers Norris Turner, Associate Professor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University

This collection of classic and contemporary readings in ethics presents sharp, competing views on a wide range of fundamentally important topics: moral relativism and objectivism, ethical egoism, value theory, utilitarianism, deontological ethics, virtue ethics, ethics and religion, and applied ethics. The Fourth Edition dramatically increases the volume’s utility by expanding and updating the selections and introductions while retaining the structure that has made previous editions so successful. (North American rights only)

This edition comprises the full text of The Province of Jurisprudence Determined, a classic work of moral, political, and legal philosophy, including the chapter on Utilitarianism and the detailed discussion of social contract theory, which have been excluded from previous editions. Also included is the essay on The Uses of the Study of Jurisprudence, which gives an important assessment of Austin’s conception of analytical jurisprudence.

Humanity faces numerous critical challenges in the twenty-first century, from climate change and globalization to pandemics and the impact of technological advances. Can the ideas of past political thinkers help us refine the problem-solving skills needed to redress the practical predicaments of today? In Classics of Political Thought for Today, Colin Farrelly explores a wide range of historical political thinkers, demonstrating how the successes and limitations of these past figures can yield sage insights for how we identify and address the social and political problems of today. The book canvasses, and critically assesses, the ancient Greeks, social contract theory, conservatism, feminism, Black political thought, utilitarianism, and Marxism. Farrelly highlights the lessons we can learn from past political thinkers, engaging with their ideas in a way that facilitates the intellectual curiosity, insight, and optimism necessary for addressing the societal predicaments of today and tomorrow.

"A wonderfully executed introduction to utilitarianism that is unlike anything else on the market. It begins with a set of structural issues facing any ethical theory and then carefully shows how utilitarianism fills in that structure by considering the choices it faces at each step. In the way the reader is led from one distinction to the next (as each structural issue is addressed) and in the accessible, conversational style of the prose, the book also has the feel of a philosophical dialogue. It sets out the leading commitments of the view and then breaks down precisely how each commitment might be challenged and defended. The book will be an excellent resource for students who have already been introduced to utilitarianism and want to get clearer—much clearer—on the implications of accepting the view."  —Piers Norris Turner, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Center for Ethics and Human Values, The Ohio State University

This Hackett edition is an unabridged and unaltered republication of the seventh (1907) edition as published by Macmillan and Company, Limited.

"With Harriet Taylor's name at last joined to that of her beloved husband John Stuart Mill as the co-author of this timeless book, we get to see On Liberty even more clearly as the complex and nuanced text it has always been. The greatest plea for individual intellectual freedom ever penned, with its insistence that no idea should be left unexamined nor any protest left unheard, it is also implicitly a document of progressive reform: the political emancipation of women is as much a natural consequence of Mill and Taylor's view of liberty as is the need for unimpeded discussion of all political questions. The right to open debate leads inevitably to the possibility of undreamt-of reform. Set free from too narrow a 'libertarian' or ‘utilitarian’ understanding, we can once again embrace On Liberty as one of the greatest heralds of the open society we possess, and as a foundational two-headed document of the matchless moral adventure of liberal democracy."
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker critic-at-large and author of A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism (Basic Books, 2019)

The fifth edition of Michael L. Morgan’s Classics of Moral and Political Theory broadens the scope and increases the versatility of this landmark anthology by offering new selections from Aristotle’s Politics, Aquinas’ Disputed Questions on Virtue and Treatise on Law, as well as the entirety of Locke’s Letter Concerning Toleration, Kant’s To Perpetual Peace, and Nietzsche’s On the Advantage and Disadvantage of History for Life.

The Eighth Edition of Steven M. Cahn's Classics of Western Philosophy offers the same exacting standard of editing and translation that made earlier editions of this anthology the most highly valued and widely used volume of its kind. But the Eighth Edition offers exciting new content as well, including Plato's Laches (complete), new selections from Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (on courage), Descartes' Discourse on Method (complete), all previously omitted sections of Berkeley's A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, and Kant's Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics (complete).

This meticulously edited anthology provides a comprehensive, problems-oriented entrée to philosophy.  Substantial readings from major classical and contemporary thinkers—featuring many of Hackett's widely acclaimed translations—are supported by a general introduction, engaging introductions to each major topic, and a glossary of important philosophical terms. (North American rights only)