The Happiness Philosophers : the Lives and Works of the Great Utilitarians / Bart Schultz.

Main entry:

Schultz, Bart, author.

Title & Author:

The Happiness Philosophers : the Lives and Works of the Great Utilitarians / Bart Schultz.

Publication:

Description:

xii, 437 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 24 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 347-402) and index.
The Adventures of William Godwin -- Jeremy Bentham's Dream -- John Stuart Mill and Company -- Henry Sidgwick and Beyond.
Dust jacket.

Summary:

Bart Schultz tells the colorful story of the lives and legacies of the founders of utilitarianism--one of the most influential yet misunderstood and maligned philosophies of the past two centuries. Best known for arguing that "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong," utilitarianism was developed by the radical philosophers, critics, and social reformers William Godwin (the husband of Mary Wollstonecraft and father of Mary Shelley), Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart and Harriet Taylor Mill, and Henry Sidgwick. Together, they had a profound influence on nineteenth-century reforms, in areas ranging from law, politics, and economics to morals, education, and women's rights. Their work transformed life in ways we take for granted today. Bentham even advocated the decriminalization of same-sex acts, decades before the cause was taken up by other activists. Yet in part because of its misleading name and the caricatures popularized by figures as varied as Dickens, Marx, and Foucault, utilitarianism is sometimes still dismissed as cold, calculating, inhuman, and simplistic. By revealing the fascinating human sides of the remarkable pioneers of utilitarianism, Schultz provides a richer understanding and appreciation of their philosophical and political perspectives - one that also helps explain why utilitarianism is experiencing a renaissance today and is again being used to tackle some of the world's most serious problems.

ISBN:

9780691154770 (hardcover)
0691154775 (hardcover)

Subject:

Godwin, William, 1756-1836.
Bentham, Jeremy, 1748-1832.
Mill, John Stuart, 1806-1873.
Sidgwick, Henry, 1838-1900.
Bentham, Jeremy 1748-1832
Godwin, William 1756-1836
Mill, Harriet Hardy Taylor 1807-1858
Mill, John Stuart 1806-1873
Sidgwick, Henry 1838-1900
Utilitarianism History.
Philosophers Biography.
Philosophy History.
Utilitarisme Histoire.
Philosophes Biographies.
Philosophie Histoire.
Philosophers
Philosophy
Utilitarianism
Philosoph
Utilitarismus

Form/genre:

Biography
Biographies.
History

Holdings:

Location: Library main 300009
Call No.: BIB 246167
Status: Available

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