Utilitarian Ethics

Anthony Quinton

Anthony Quinton's classic study has stood the test of time and is generally acknowledged to be the best and most reliable introduction to ethical utilitarianism. This edition includes a new preface surveying recent developments.

Quinton begins with a definition of utilitarianism and goes on to consider hedonism as a criterion of value and theory of motivation. He surveys early hedonism and examines the emergence of utilitarianism proper in the works of Hume, Tucker, and Paley. He also analyzes the contributions of Bentham, James Mill, and J. S. Mill, with special attention to J. S. Mill's arguments concerning the sanction of morality, the proof of the principle of utility, and the questions of justice and utility.

Anthony Quinton, now Lord Quinton, is an outstanding contemporary thinker, author of The Nature of Things (1973), The Politics of Imperfection (1978), Francis Bacon (1980), and Thoughts and Thinkers (1982). Formerly president of Trinity College, Oxford, he is now president of the Aristotelian Society and chairman of the British Library Board.