Utilitarianism and Other Essays

This collection traces the creation and development of a system of ethics that has had an enduring influence on moral philosophy and legislative policy.

One of the most important nineteenth-century schools of thought, Utilitarianism propounds the view that the value or rightness of an action rests in how well it promotes the welfare of those affected by it, aiming for "the greatest happiness of the greatest number." Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was the movement's founder, as much a social refo...