A History of Utilitarian Ethics

In this landmark volume, Samuel Hollander presents a fresh and compelling history of moral philosophy from Locke to John Stuart Mill, showing that a 'moral sense' can actually be considered compatible with utilitarianism. The book also explores the link between utilitarianism and distributive justice. Hollander engages in close textual exegesis of the works relating to individual authors, while never losing sight of the intellectual relationships between them. Tying together the greatest of the British moral philosophers, this volume reveals an unexpected unity of eighteenth and nineteenth century ethical doctrine at both the individual and social level. Essential reading for advanced students and researchers of the history of economic thought, political economy, history of ethics, history of political thought and intellectual history.

Samuel Hollander is University Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto, Canada, and an Officer in the Order of Canada.

Contents PART I: JOHN LOCKE Chapter 1: John Locke, Utilitarian Ethics and the Moral Sense PART II: EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY MORAL-SENSE LITERATURE Chapter 2: Lord Shaftesbury, Utilitarian Ethics and the Moral Sense Chapter 3: Two Shaftesbury Critics: Bernard Mandeville and John Brown Chapter 4: Francis Hutcheson and the Hutcheson-Locke Relationship Chapter 5: David Hume, Utilitarian Ethics, the Moral Sense and Distributive Justice Chapter 6: C.A.Helvétius and David Hartley: Utilitarian Ethics and the Moral Sense PART III: ADAM SMITH Chapter 7: Utilitarian Ethics in The Theory Of Moral Sentiments Chapter 8: Utilitarian Ethics and Distributive Justice in The Wealth Of Nations PART IV: JEREMY BENTHAM Chapter 9: Bentham, Utilitarian Ethics and Distributive Justice Chapter 10: Bentham in Relation To Locke and the Eighteenth-Century Literature PART V: THOMAS ROBERT MALTHUS Chapter 11: Malthus and the Utilitarians Chapter 12: Malthus, Distributive Justice and the Equality Issue PART VI: JOHN STUART MILL Chapter 13: Mill, Distributive Justice and Reform Chapter 14: Mill, Ethical Progress and Personal Liberty Chapter 15: Mill and The Moral Sense: The Return to Bentham (And Hutcheson)