Utylitaryzm

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Dzieło · Empiryzm, oświecenie i liberalizm

Utylitaryzm

1863 · autorstwa: John Stuart Mill

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Wprowadzenie

Mill first published the essay in three instalments in Fraser’s Magazine in 1861, and as a short book in 1863. Its five chapters answer common objections to the doctrine of Bentham and Mill’s father: that it is a “doctrine worthy only of swine”, that it is godless, or that no one can calculate consequences in advance. Mill’s reply introduces higher and lower pleasures, to be ranked by those who have experienced both. The fourth chapter contains a much-criticised “proof” that happiness is desirable because people in fact desire it, and the long final chapter connects justice with utility. It is often the first text on utilitarianism that students read.