Beschreibung

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the philosophy of John Stuart Mill has never been more relevant. Can we reconcile individual liberty with the demands of the common good? John Fitzpatrick argues that, properly understood, Mill's liberal utilitarianism can indeed support a system of rights rich enough to guarantee individual liberty. Combining fresh interpretations of Mill's writings on ethics, politics, and political economy with the historical Mill that can found in his autobiography, the book will be of substantial interest to a wide audience.

Autorentext

John R. Fitzpatrick teaches philosophy at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, USA.

CHAPTER ONE: UTILITARIANISM AND RIGHTS
James Rachels and Utilitarianism
Pig Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism and Privacy
Racial and Gender Justice
Kant and Race
Racial Blindness
Mill on Race
Kant and Women
Mill and Feminist Activism
The Historical Mill and the Historical Kant
Kant and Animals
Kant and the Capacity for Rationality
Bentham and Animals
Bentham and Paederasty
Classical Utilitarianism and Rights
Utilitarianism, Egalitarianism,
and the Right to Equal Consideration
CHAPTER TWO: LIBERTARIANISM, CLASSICAL ECONOMICS, AND LIBERTY
Libertarianism and Classical Political Economy
Mill and Political Economy
Freedom and Individual Self-Development
The Harm Principle
The Liberty Principle
Mill's Dialectic
Freedom of Expression and Individuality
The Utility of Experiments in Living
The Final Formulation of the Liberty Principle
CHAPTER THREE: MILL'S MINIMALIST ETHICS
Edwards' Reading of Mill
A Point of Clarification
Philosophy and Fashion
The Difficulty with the Maximizing Reading
The Minimalist Reading
Mill and Moral Extremism
Mill's Utilitarianism and On Liberty
Utilitarianism and A System of Logic
The Principle of Utility
Utility and Character Formation
CHAPTER FOUR: THE RAWLSIAN OBJECTION
Rawls's Objection(s)
Bentham and Rights
Gray and Green Utilitarianism
Hospers's Two Mills
Punishing the Innocent
Slavery and Individual Rights
The Virtues of Utilitarianism
The Reality Based Community
Opportunity Costs
False Dichotomies
Positive and Negative Liberty
Moral Objectivism
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX

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