The Happiness Philosophers :The Lives and Works of the Great Utilitarians

3.75 ( 12 Ratings by Goodreads)
The Happiness Philosophers

The Happiness Philosophers :The Lives and Works of the Great Utilitarians

(Author)
3.75 (12 Ratings by Goodreads)
hardback
Published: 2 June, 2017
Standard worldwide delivery by Tue, July 21 - Fri, July 24
Order within 0
Condition: NEW
$60.34
RRP $63.57
You save $3.23 (5%)
Price includes shipping
Available 1 in stock
- +
Add to basket Wishlist This
FREE Returns within 30 days
More Details

Popular Books by Bart Schultz

View All Books by Bart Schultz
Utilitarianism as a Way of Life
Utilitarianism as a Way of Life
Bart Schultz
$24.04
New
Add to basket
Henry Sidgwick - Eye of the Universe
Henry Sidgwick - Eye of the Universe
Bart Schultz
$68.06
New
Add to basket
Utilitarianism and Empire
Utilitarianism and Empire
Bart Schultz
$161.44
New
Add to basket
Essays on Henry Sidgwick
Essays on Henry Sidgwick
Bart Schultz
$183.92
New
Add to basket
Henry Sidgwick - Eye of the Universe
Henry Sidgwick - Eye of the Universe
Bart Schultz
$164.12
New
Add to basket
Utilitarianism and Empire
Utilitarianism and Empire
Bart Schultz
$78.09
New
Add to basket
Essays on Henry Sidgwick
Essays on Henry Sidgwick
Bart Schultz
$88.97
New
Add to basket

Description

A colorful history of utilitarianism told through the lives and ideas of Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and its other founders In The Happiness Philosophers, Bart Schultz tells the colorful story of the lives and legacies of the founders of utilitarianism--one of the most influential yet misunderstood and maligned philosophies of the past two centuries. Best known for arguing that "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong," utilitarianism was developed by the radical philosophers, critics, and social reformers William Godwin (the husband of Mary Wollstonecraft and father of Mary Shelley), Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart and Harriet Taylor Mill, and Henry Sidgwick. Together, they had a profound influence on nineteenth-century reforms, in areas ranging from law, politics, and economics to morals, education, and women's rights. Their work transformed life in ways we take for granted today. Bentham even advocated the decriminalization of same-sex acts, decades before the cause was taken up by other activists. As Bertrand Russell wrote about Bentham in the late 1920s, "There can be no doubt that nine-tenths of the people living in England in the latter part of last century were happier than they would have been if he had never lived." Yet in part because of its misleading name and the caricatures popularized by figures as varied as Dickens, Marx, and Foucault, utilitarianism is sometimes still dismissed as cold, calculating, inhuman, and simplistic. By revealing the fascinating human sides of the remarkable pioneers of utilitarianism, The Happiness Philosophers provides a richer understanding and appreciation of their philosophical and political perspectives--one that also helps explain why utilitarianism is experiencing a renaissance today and is again being used to tackle some of the world's most serious problems.
See more

More Details

Type Book
ISBN13 9780691154770
ISBN10 0691154775
Number Of Pages 456
Item Weight 482 g
Publisher / Reseller Princeton University Press
Format hardback
See More +

Media Reviews

"Schultz's ... overview of William Godwin, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and Henry Sidgwick is a combination of biographies of the four Utilitarian philosophers and an overview of their philosophies. In each chapter, these two parts mesh well because, as Schultz points out, 'one needs the work and the lives' to understand a philosopher's writings fully. It also works well because of the diversity of writings on the topic of ethics, freedom, belief, and epistemology... Schultz does a wonderful job of combining each thinker's biography with their philosophical development."--Library Journal

Show more

Author's Bio

Bart Schultz is senior lecturer in the humanities and director of the Civic Knowledge Project at the University of Chicago. He is the author of Henry Sidgwick: Eye of the Universe, An Intellectual Biography.

Show more