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 reformer as a philosopher. His greatest interpreter, John Stuart Mill (1806-73), set out to humanize Bentham's pragmatic Utilitarianism by balancing the claims of reason and the imagination, individuality and social well-being in essays such as "Bentham," "Coleridge" and, above all, Utilitarianism.

Setting the central texts in their historical and biographical context, Alan Ryan's anthology provides the perfect introduction to an enormously significant philosophical movement.

Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

John Stuart Mill (1806 - 73) formed the Utilitarian Society which met to read and discuss essays. His works include On Liberty and Principles of Political Economy.

Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832) set out to theorize a simple and equitable legal system. The law of utility, for which is best remembered, states that the goodness of a law can be measured in accordance with the measure in which it subserves the happiness of hte individual.

Alan Ryan is Warden of New College, Oxford and is currently on sabbatical in Stanford. His other books include Property and Political Theory and Bertrand Russell: A Political Life.