Utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill · 1863 CE
Excerpt
“Happiness is the only thing which is intrinsically valuable, and is, therefore, the only criterion of a right moral rule. (chapter 2)”
Why the atlas keeps it
Mill defends the intuitions Bentham's calculus was meant to replace: higher and lower pleasures, the justice principle that each person counts as one, and the liberty principle against the tyranny of the majority. Published the year after the Origin of Species, and much of the argument is a reply to the comparison.
Terms this text reaches for
Ranked by the codex search index against the summary above, not hand-picked.
Person-affecting principle
ethicsThe view that an action is wrong only if it affects someone for the worse.
Care versus justice
philosophyThe standing debate over whether obligation is built from relationships or from impartial rules.
Precautionary principle
ethicsWhen serious harm is possible and the evidence is uncertain, act to avoid it.
Speciesism
ethicsTreating an entity's species membership as the reason for its moral consideration.
Total utilitarianism
ethicsThe view that the morally best action maximises total well-being across everyone affected.
Reasonable rejectability
philosophyThe standard that a principle is unacceptable if someone could reasonably refuse to live under it.