Utilitarianism as a Way of Life (Paperback)

Bart Schultz

ISBN 10: 1509552278 / ISBN 13: 9781509552276

Published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Oxford, 2024

About this Item

Paperback. Utilitarianism a commitment to the greatest happiness for the greatest number has been the target of endless opposition. According to its critics, it ignores the separateness of persons, cannot secure the protections of basic rights, demands extreme sacrifice, can justify anything the list goes on. It has been implicated in the horrors of settler colonialism, imperialism, and racial capitalism, both historically and today, as the neoliberal world order faces a profound legitimation crisis.Bart Schultz argues that utilitarian philosophy must be decolonized and reimagined for the current moment: a time of new and looming existential threats, in a world desperate for social change. Where dominant ethical and political approaches have failed to adequately deal with the enormous challenges we face, utilitarianism as a set of lived practices, not simply a theoretical construction may hold out some hope of seriously addressing them. Drawing on alternatives to the well-known Eurocentric story of utilitarianism (and an extensive review and critique of that story) and incorporating the works of Peter Singer, Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek, Derek Parfit, Martha Nussbaum, and other major philosophers, Schultz crafts a groundbreaking new framework of utilitarianism born of struggle and resistance.Utilitarianism as a Way of Life is an essential text for scholars and students of philosophy, political science, economics, decolonization studies, gender studies, psychology, environmental studies, and related fields. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781509552276

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Utilitarianism as a Way of Life (Paperback)
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Oxford
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1509552278
• ISBN 13: 9781509552276
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Utilitarianism – a commitment to ‘the greatest happiness for the greatest number’ – has been the target of endless opposition. According to its critics, it ignores the separateness of persons, cannot secure the protections of basic rights, demands extreme sacrifice, can justify anything – the list goes on. It has been implicated in the horrors of settler colonialism, imperialism, and racial capitalism, both historically and today, as the neoliberal world order faces a profound legitimation crisis.

Bart Schultz argues that utilitarian philosophy must be decolonized and reimagined for the current moment: a time of new and looming existential threats, in a world desperate for social change. Where dominant ethical and political approaches have failed to adequately deal with the enormous challenges we face, utilitarianism – as a set of lived practices, not simply a theoretical construction – may hold out some hope of seriously addressing them. Drawing on alternatives to the well-known Eurocentric story of utilitarianism (and an extensive review and critique of that story) and incorporating the works of Peter Singer, Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek, Derek Parfit, Martha Nussbaum, and other major philosophers, Schultz crafts a groundbreaking new framework of utilitarianism born of struggle and resistance.

Utilitarianism as a Way of Life is an essential text for scholars and students of philosophy, political science, economics, decolonization studies, gender studies, psychology, environmental studies, and related fields.

About the Author

Bart Schultz is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Chicago.