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.
Frederick Rosen is Professor of the History of Political Thought at University College London. He has served as General Editor of The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham, Director of the Jeremy Bentham Project, and Director of the Centre for Politics, Law and Society at UCL. Among his books are Jeremy Bentham and Representative Democracy(1983) and Bentham, Byron and Greece: Constitutionalism, Nationalism, and Early Liberal Political Thought (1992). He has co-edited several books, was the founding editor of Utilitas, and has contributed numerous articles to various learned journals.
Recensioner i media
'Rosen offers a provocative thesis, particularly concerning Hume and Smith, which critics will certainly have to answer.' Duncan Kelly, University of Sheffield, Political Studies Review
Innehållsförteckning
1. IntroductionPart I 2. Utility and Justice: Epicurus and the Epicurean Tradition3. Reading Hume Backwards: Utility as the Foundation of Morals4. The Idea of Utility in Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments 5. Helvetius, the Scottish Enlightenment, and Bentham's Idea of Utility6. The Idea of Utility in Smith's Wealth of Nations 7. Bentham and Smith on Liberty8. William Paley as a Utilitarian9. Liberty, Utility, and the Reform of the Criminal Law10. J.S. Mill's Hedonism11. J.S. Mill on Justice and LibertyPart II 12. Punishment of the Innocent13. Individual Sacrifice and the Greatest Happiness14. The Tyranny of the Majority15. Negative Liberty
