The methods of ethics by sidgwick, henry, 18381900. Essay on rational utilitarianism according to henry sidgwick. It means mutatis with changes made mutandis in the things that need to be changed. This book is a comprehensive and critical interpretation of henry sidgwicks masterpiece the methods of ethics, first published in 1874. One has to kill a few of ones natural selves to let the rest grow a very painful slaughter of innocents. For the second book, see the methods of ethics book 2, which is based on the 7th edition. The cambridge companion to utilitarianism edited by ben eggleston. He was the knightbridge professor of moral philosophy at the university of cambridge from 1883 until his death, and is best known in philosophy for his utilitarian treatise the methods of ethics.
Publication date 1907 topics ethics publisher london macmillan collection. Oct 04, 2003 henry sidgwick consists of papers by stefan collini, john skorupski, and ross harrison, with replies by jonathan ree, onora oneill, and roger crisp collinis rich and witty paper considers two pictures of victorian intellectualsthe public moralist, such as john stuart mill, and the academic specialist. Henry sidgwick, born may 31, 1838, skipton, yorkshire, eng. His fundamental work, the methods of ethics first edition 1874, seventh and last edition 1907, here reprinted, is. It offers a defense of utilitarianism, though some writers schneewind 1977 have argued that it should not primarily be read as a defense of utilitarianism.
His masterpiece, the methods of ethics, first published in 1874, marks the culmination of the classical and nontheological utilitarian tradition, which took the greatest happiness as the fundamental normative demand. Sidgwicks utilitarianism in the context of the rise of. Utilitarianism9 formula should be correctly understood. To quote him, pleasure or happiness is the ultimate good. A class and state analysis of henry sidgwicks utilitarianism. Roger crisp presents a comprehensive study of henry sidgwicks the methods of ethics, a landmark work first published in 1874. Sidgwicks major contribution to this stream of thought is his the methods of ethics 1874, which was both the capstone work of classical utilitarianism and cemented sidgwicks place as one of the great philosophers of ethics during the victorian period. Henry sidgwicks book, methods of ethics, was published in 1874, a year after the death of john stuart mill. Traces of utilitarian thought can be found in the works of plato and aristotle, but not until the eighteenth century did utilitarianism truly begin to emerge as a welldefined and. The six papers he gave at the metaphysical society 18691880 on nearly the same subject throw a new light on his ideas and how he revised his work several times in the light of religious, scientific and political changes which were taking place at the time. At the same time that benthams utilitarianism advocated the promotion of the general happiness, it assumed the predominant selfishness of human beings.
First, it traces the origins and development of utilitarianism via the work of jeremy bentham, john stuart mill, henry sidgwick, and others. Sidgwick was also a reformer who always advocated education as the crucial issue for historical. With a rather shocking conclusion that none of us can match sidgwick, mariko nakanookuno lucidly analyzes henry sidgwicks impacts on contemporary ethics. The revision of the methods of ethics for this edition was begun by professor sidgwick and carried through by him up to p. Eye of the universe 2004 and of the volume, coedited with georgios varouxakis, utilitarianism and empire 2005. Indeed, in due course, he would go so far as to send me a big box containing all of his sidgwick research materials.
One of the classical utilitarians, he wrote one of the most important statements of utilitarianism in his the methods of ethics, which was said to be the best book ever written on ethics. Other articles where methods of ethics is discussed. But on closer examination, it appears to be applied to several distinct theories, having no necessary connexion with one. A rare academic study on what john rawls, peter singer, and derek parfit acknowledge as the finest book in ethics the methods of ethics. Knowledge, beauty and other objects which are considered by some to have intrinsic value are only means to happiness. Henry sidgwick is today remembered as a later nineteenthcentury moral philosopher who struggled with his christian faith, having difficulty reconciling this with an emergent modern and secular philosophy. This class was devoted to some sophisticated additions that mill and sidgwick made to benthams version of utilitarianism. Henry sidgwick 1838 1900 was a british philosopher and economist. Singer clarendon press, 2000 ps primary source a primary source is a work that is being studied, or that provides firsthand or direct evidence on a topic. The methods of ethics 6th edition by henry sidgwick. Historians of political ideas have tended to close their discussions of english utilitarianism with john stuart mill, who died in 1873. I believe that the very imperfect notion ordinarily formed of its meaning, is the chief obstacle which impedes its reception. This hackett edition, first published in 1981, is an unabridged and unaltered republication of the seventh 1907 edition as published by macmillan and company, limited. This chapter discusses the life and ethical philosophy of henry sidgwick.
This book represents the deepest and most systematic effort to analyze the difficulties of mills philosophy and to surmount them to reach a satisfying philosophical version of classic utilitarianism. Anthony skelton 2008 etica et politica ethics and politics 10 2. Crisp argues that sidgwick is largely right about many central issues in moral philosophy. The methods of ethics book utilitarianism wiki fandom. The term utilitarianism is, at the present day, in common use, and is supposed to designate a doctrine or method with which we are all familiar. Some fundamental ethical controversies oxford scholarship. Mill and sidgwick on utilitarianism notes for march 24. Sidgwick s dualism of practical reason, evolutionary. Schneewinds sidgwicks ethics and victorian moral philosophy was the single best philosophical commentary on henry sidgwicks methods of ethics produced in the twentieth century. Some commentators even treat mills writings during the last twenty years of his life as a sort of addendum to utilitarianism proper, indicating that the inconsistency of mills later work demonstrates the untenability of the basic doctrines of utilitarianism. Especially noteworthy is his discussion of the various principles of what he calls common sense moralityi. Eye of the universe 2004 and of the volume, coedited with georgios varouxakis, utilitarianism.
Henry sidgwick quotes author of the methods of ethics. Sidgwicks seminal text the methods of ethics left off with an unresolved problem that sidgwick referred to as the dualism of practical reason. Gainesville, university of florida press, 1959 ocolc589923154. Henry sidgwicks great work, the methods of ethics 1874, was an attempt to give utilitarianism an intuitional basis. My chief concern here is to go beyond those earlier works. Henry sidgwick s great work, the methods of ethics 1874, was an attempt to give utilitarianism an intuitional basis. David phillipss sidgwickian ethics is a penetrating contribution to the scholarly and philosophical understanding of henry sidgwicks the methods of ethics.
Pdf sidgwicks utilitarianism in the context of the rise. His masterpiece, the methods of ethics 1907, was first published in 1874 and in many ways marked the. Sidgwick believes that it is rational benevolence that sets utilitarianism apart and why john stuart mills attempt to create a foundation for utilitarianism fails. This page contains a detailed summary of henry sidgwicks methods of ethics 1884, 3rd edition. Henery sidgwick is another hedonist according to whom pleasure is the ultimate aim of life. Sidgwicks moral theory in the methods of ethics and the peculiar conclusion. The latter portion of his revision was done under the pressure of severe illness, the increase of which prevented him from continuing it beyond the point.
In this paper, it is suggested that the only accurate part of this statement relates to the century in which henry sidgwick lived. Add to acs pare sidgwicks utilitarianism and his system of philosophy with. You may copy it, give it away or reuse it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included with this ebook or. Page 405 by utilitarianism is here meant the ethical theory, that the conduct which, under any given circumstances, is objectively right, is that which will produce the greatest amount of happiness on the whole. In the utilitarian tradition henry sidgwick 18381900 has an important place. Henry sidgwick s book, methods of ethics, was published in 1874, a year after the death of john stuart mill. Mill was worried about one objection to utilitarianism in particular. Pdf sidgwick proof of utilitarianism handout andrew. Sidgwicks discussion of empirical hedonism is a brilliant and detailed inquiry into whether one would be able to make decisions on the basis of a hedonistic account of value henry sidgwick, the methods of ethics, book ii, ch. This note focuses on phillipss understanding of aspects of sidgwicks argument for utilitarianism and the moral epistemology to which he subscribes. Sidgwicks argument for utilitarianism and his moral. The term utilitarianism is in common use these days, and is supposed to name a doctrine or method that were all familiar with. He is the author of henry sidgwick, eye of the universe. Sidgwick believes that mills explanation of the principle of utility and the proof he uses is not plain or easy enough to understand.
The six papers he gave at the metaphysical society 18691880 on nearly the same subject throw a new light on his. Sidgwicks methods of ethics 1874 is the most detailed and subtle work of utilitarian ethics yet produced. He was one of the founders and first president of the society for psychical research, a member of the metaphysical society, and promoted the higher education of women. Henry sidgwicks 18381900 the methods of ethics 1874 is one of the most well known works in utilitarian moral philosophy, and deservedly so. As the content is expanded, the structure of this page might changethis page might become a brief description of the work with links to each of the four books in the volume. Utilitarianism john stuart mill mcmaster faculty of. He also founded newnham college in 1875, a womenonly constituent college of the university of cambridge, which was only the second cambridge college to admit women. It shows how sidgwick thought that the commonsense morality accepted by him and his contemporaries was underpinned by an impartial form of universal hedonism, but that this kind of impartial hedonism or utilitarianism could not be made consistent with egoism. With a rather shocking conclusion that none of us can match sidgwick, mariko nakanookuno lucidly analyzes henry sidgwick s impacts on contemporary ethics. This historical study defines sidgwicks place in the british utilitarian tradition. Singer clarendon press, 2000 ps primary source a primary source is a work that is being studied, or.
About half the occurrences of this are replacements for psychical. Henry sidgwick 18381900 was an english utilitarian philosopher and economist, as well as one of the founders and first president of the society for psychical research. The methods of ethics 6th edition by henry sidgwick, 1901. The theory of evolution in its application to practice.
Fourth, henry sidgwick wrote what is widely regarded the most thorough, systematic, and philosophically subtle treatise on utilitarianism, with his. Henry sidgwick 31 may 1838 28 august 1900 was an english utilitarian philosopher and economist. The methods of ethics, by henry sidgwickthe project. Schneewind 147 no plans ever to write anything on him again. The history of utilitarianism stanford encyclopedia of. 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 wellbeing.
Mill and sidgwick on utilitarianism notes for march 24 main points. Sep 01, 2014 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. The cambridge companion to utilitarianism edited by ben. Henry sidgwick was one of the most influential ethical philosophers of the victorian era, and his work continues to exert a powerful influence on angloamerican ethical and political theory, with an increasing global impact as well. The meaning of utilitarianism henry sidgwick defining utilitarianism 1. Henry sidgwick as it is not defined, it is important to understand that utilitarianism is the doctrine that actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority. Sidgwick evidently treats the two words as synonymous. One of the leading utilitarians of the late 19th century, the cambridge philosopher henry sidgwick, rejected such theories of motivation as well as benthams theory of the meaning of moral terms and sought to support utilitarianism by showing that it follows from systematic reflection on the morality of common sense. The methods of ethics by henry sidgwick free ebook.
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