Partha Dasgupta
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199247882
- eISBN:
- 9780191596100
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199247889.003.0016
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter reviews a widely discussed theory of population ethics, Average Utilitarianism. Its ethical foundation as a population policy seems to have fundamental problems.
This chapter reviews a widely discussed theory of population ethics, Average Utilitarianism. Its ethical foundation as a population policy seems to have fundamental problems.
Partha Dasgupta
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199247882
- eISBN:
- 9780191596100
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199247889.003.0017
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Reviews a widely discussed theory of population ethics, Classical Utilitarianism. It is less vulnerable to scrutiny than Average Utilitarianism, though it may recommend population levels that may ...
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Reviews a widely discussed theory of population ethics, Classical Utilitarianism. It is less vulnerable to scrutiny than Average Utilitarianism, though it may recommend population levels that may seem excessive to many.Less
Reviews a widely discussed theory of population ethics, Classical Utilitarianism. It is less vulnerable to scrutiny than Average Utilitarianism, though it may recommend population levels that may seem excessive to many.
William Cornish, Michael Lobban, and Keith Smith
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199258819
- eISBN:
- 9780191718151
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199258819.003.0005
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
This chapter on law and religion begins with a discussion of Utilitarianism and Evangelicalism as the two competing and complementary social, political, and economic working ideologies in the 19th ...
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This chapter on law and religion begins with a discussion of Utilitarianism and Evangelicalism as the two competing and complementary social, political, and economic working ideologies in the 19th century. It then discusses crime and punishment, enforcing the law of Christian morality, Christianity and the political and economic status quo, legislating for social compassion and progress, and the dismantling of the Established church's privileges.Less
This chapter on law and religion begins with a discussion of Utilitarianism and Evangelicalism as the two competing and complementary social, political, and economic working ideologies in the 19th century. It then discusses crime and punishment, enforcing the law of Christian morality, Christianity and the political and economic status quo, legislating for social compassion and progress, and the dismantling of the Established church's privileges.
Bernard Schweizer
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199751389
- eISBN:
- 9780199894864
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199751389.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter offers a sweeping historical overview of misotheism. The major stopping points along this compelling history of ideas are: the Book of Job, Epicurus, Ovid, St. Augustine, Thomas Paine, ...
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This chapter offers a sweeping historical overview of misotheism. The major stopping points along this compelling history of ideas are: the Book of Job, Epicurus, Ovid, St. Augustine, Thomas Paine, James Mill, Ludwig Feuerbach, Karl Marx, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Michael Bakunin, Peter Kropotkin, Friedrich Nietzsche, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Virginia Woolf, Storm Jameson, Naomi Goldenberg, Rosemary Ruether, Sigmund Freud, Albert Camus, William Empson, and Gore Vidal. The author documents the genealogy of God-hatred from the trial-of-God theme in the Book of Job, to Epicureanism, deism, utilitarianism, anarchism, feminism, and secular humanism.Less
This chapter offers a sweeping historical overview of misotheism. The major stopping points along this compelling history of ideas are: the Book of Job, Epicurus, Ovid, St. Augustine, Thomas Paine, James Mill, Ludwig Feuerbach, Karl Marx, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Michael Bakunin, Peter Kropotkin, Friedrich Nietzsche, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Virginia Woolf, Storm Jameson, Naomi Goldenberg, Rosemary Ruether, Sigmund Freud, Albert Camus, William Empson, and Gore Vidal. The author documents the genealogy of God-hatred from the trial-of-God theme in the Book of Job, to Epicureanism, deism, utilitarianism, anarchism, feminism, and secular humanism.
D. P. O’brien
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264751
- eISBN:
- 9780191734229
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264751.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Historiography
Robert Denis Collison Black was internationally recognized as the authority on Jevons, and in particular on the centrally important elements of Benthamite Utilitarianism in Jevons' thought. Jevons' ...
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Robert Denis Collison Black was internationally recognized as the authority on Jevons, and in particular on the centrally important elements of Benthamite Utilitarianism in Jevons' thought. Jevons' Theory Political Economy was, Black argued, a Benthamite exercise, not a systematic treatise on value and distribution. This in turn explained why Jevons' theory of production was essentially classical, and why he had no theory of aggregate distribution. Black's work on Jevons also threw light on the professionalization of economics. Black was the well-merited recipient of many honours. In 1974 he was elected both a Fellow of the British Academy and a Member of the Royal Irish Academy. He became an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin in 1982; President of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland over the years 1983 to 1986; acted as President of Section F of the British Association in 1984–5; was elected a Distinguished Fellow of the History of Economics Society in 1987; and in 1988, Queen's University bestowed upon him an Hon. D.Sc. Econ.Less
Robert Denis Collison Black was internationally recognized as the authority on Jevons, and in particular on the centrally important elements of Benthamite Utilitarianism in Jevons' thought. Jevons' Theory Political Economy was, Black argued, a Benthamite exercise, not a systematic treatise on value and distribution. This in turn explained why Jevons' theory of production was essentially classical, and why he had no theory of aggregate distribution. Black's work on Jevons also threw light on the professionalization of economics. Black was the well-merited recipient of many honours. In 1974 he was elected both a Fellow of the British Academy and a Member of the Royal Irish Academy. He became an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin in 1982; President of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland over the years 1983 to 1986; acted as President of Section F of the British Association in 1984–5; was elected a Distinguished Fellow of the History of Economics Society in 1987; and in 1988, Queen's University bestowed upon him an Hon. D.Sc. Econ.
Catherine Osborne
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199282067
- eISBN:
- 9780191712944
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199282067.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
This chapter looks at the idea that some beasts threaten human well being, while others are conducive towards it. The views of Hermarchus on the need to wage war on the undesirable creatures, and to ...
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This chapter looks at the idea that some beasts threaten human well being, while others are conducive towards it. The views of Hermarchus on the need to wage war on the undesirable creatures, and to protect those that are useful are examined, along with his and other ancient attempts to analyse morality as based on rules drawn up on anthropocentric utilitarian lines. This utilitarian account of morality is compared with that of Socrates to indicate why Socrates' claim that it is beneficial to the agent to act morally well is not a utilitarian account, because for Socrates the benefit is explained by the moral goodness, whereas for the Utilitarian the moral goodness is explained by the benefit.Less
This chapter looks at the idea that some beasts threaten human well being, while others are conducive towards it. The views of Hermarchus on the need to wage war on the undesirable creatures, and to protect those that are useful are examined, along with his and other ancient attempts to analyse morality as based on rules drawn up on anthropocentric utilitarian lines. This utilitarian account of morality is compared with that of Socrates to indicate why Socrates' claim that it is beneficial to the agent to act morally well is not a utilitarian account, because for Socrates the benefit is explained by the moral goodness, whereas for the Utilitarian the moral goodness is explained by the benefit.
Paul Turner
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198122395
- eISBN:
- 9780191671401
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198122395.003.0010
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
Starting as the son of a barely literate Scottish stonemason, Thomas Carlyle ended as perhaps the most influential writer of his time. An important factor in this triumph of self-help was the ...
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Starting as the son of a barely literate Scottish stonemason, Thomas Carlyle ended as perhaps the most influential writer of his time. An important factor in this triumph of self-help was the invention of Carlylese. The literary hack-work that was Carlyle’s first defence against poverty included, besides reviewing for periodicals, translating and criticising German literature. Before 1830, however, his career was fairly conventional. Apart from a fragment of an autobiographical novel, Wotton Reinfred, his most interesting early work was ‘Signs of the Times’. This anonymous article in the Edinburgh Review condemned all current trends of thought. The metaphor served to link Utilitarianism with the triumphs of technology, via a tacit pun on James Mill’s surname, and to unify a variety of complaints, all implying that the age had lost the sense of mystery, morality, and religion. The device inaugurated Carlyle’s practice of making rather vague and general intuitions seem precise by an ingenious use of imagery.Less
Starting as the son of a barely literate Scottish stonemason, Thomas Carlyle ended as perhaps the most influential writer of his time. An important factor in this triumph of self-help was the invention of Carlylese. The literary hack-work that was Carlyle’s first defence against poverty included, besides reviewing for periodicals, translating and criticising German literature. Before 1830, however, his career was fairly conventional. Apart from a fragment of an autobiographical novel, Wotton Reinfred, his most interesting early work was ‘Signs of the Times’. This anonymous article in the Edinburgh Review condemned all current trends of thought. The metaphor served to link Utilitarianism with the triumphs of technology, via a tacit pun on James Mill’s surname, and to unify a variety of complaints, all implying that the age had lost the sense of mystery, morality, and religion. The device inaugurated Carlyle’s practice of making rather vague and general intuitions seem precise by an ingenious use of imagery.
Kathleen Blake
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199563265
- eISBN:
- 9780191721809
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199563265.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
This book offers a fresh look at the often‐censured but imperfectly understood traditions of Utilitarianism and political economy in their bearing for Victorian literature and culture. It treats ...
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This book offers a fresh look at the often‐censured but imperfectly understood traditions of Utilitarianism and political economy in their bearing for Victorian literature and culture. It treats writings by Jeremy Bentham, Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, James and John Stuart Mill, Charles Dickens, Thomas Carlyle, Anthony Trollope, George Eliot, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Rabindranath Tagore. It sets texts in historical context, examines style as well as ideas, and aims to widen awareness of commonalities across seemingly divided expressions of the age. A work of ‘new economic criticism,’ it also treats Utilitarianism, close kin to political economy but even more poorly understood and poorly regarded. No other literary study addresses Bentham so fully. The book further contributes to study of Victorian literature‐and‐liberalism and Victorian liberalism‐and‐imperialism. It challenges a high‐cultural perspective and a perspective of ideology‐critique that derive from F. R. Leavis and Michel Foucault and inform the prevailing idea of Victorian literature: as contender against the repressive mentality of Mr. Gradgrind, Dickens's caricature of a Smith‐Benthamite; against the ‘carceral’ social discipline of Bentham's Panopticon; and against the ‘dismal science.’ But ‘utility’ has the happier meaning of pleasure. This study presents a capitalist, liberal age pursuing utility in commerce, industry, and socioeconomic/political reforms; favorable to freedom; and ‘leveling’ as regards gender and class. What about empire? a question not generally so squarely confronted in work on Victorian literature‐and‐economics and Victorian literature‐and‐liberalism. Shown here is the surprising extent to which liberalism develops as liberalism through ‘liberal imperialism.’Less
This book offers a fresh look at the often‐censured but imperfectly understood traditions of Utilitarianism and political economy in their bearing for Victorian literature and culture. It treats writings by Jeremy Bentham, Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, James and John Stuart Mill, Charles Dickens, Thomas Carlyle, Anthony Trollope, George Eliot, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Rabindranath Tagore. It sets texts in historical context, examines style as well as ideas, and aims to widen awareness of commonalities across seemingly divided expressions of the age. A work of ‘new economic criticism,’ it also treats Utilitarianism, close kin to political economy but even more poorly understood and poorly regarded. No other literary study addresses Bentham so fully. The book further contributes to study of Victorian literature‐and‐liberalism and Victorian liberalism‐and‐imperialism. It challenges a high‐cultural perspective and a perspective of ideology‐critique that derive from F. R. Leavis and Michel Foucault and inform the prevailing idea of Victorian literature: as contender against the repressive mentality of Mr. Gradgrind, Dickens's caricature of a Smith‐Benthamite; against the ‘carceral’ social discipline of Bentham's Panopticon; and against the ‘dismal science.’ But ‘utility’ has the happier meaning of pleasure. This study presents a capitalist, liberal age pursuing utility in commerce, industry, and socioeconomic/political reforms; favorable to freedom; and ‘leveling’ as regards gender and class. What about empire? a question not generally so squarely confronted in work on Victorian literature‐and‐economics and Victorian literature‐and‐liberalism. Shown here is the surprising extent to which liberalism develops as liberalism through ‘liberal imperialism.’
Joel J. Kupperman
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195096545
- eISBN:
- 9780199852918
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195096545.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter explains the importance of happiness and the definition of a valuable life. John Stuart Mill ties happiness to satisfaction of desire, and equates it with pleasure toward which, he ...
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This chapter explains the importance of happiness and the definition of a valuable life. John Stuart Mill ties happiness to satisfaction of desire, and equates it with pleasure toward which, he contends, all desires ultimately point. Kant discusses happiness as the common focus of goal-directed behavior. Aristotle illustrates that a person's degree of eudaemonia (a Greek word commonly translated as happiness) depended heavily on that person's possession and exercise of excellences, including intellectual abilities and moral virtues. Value of a life as simply its degree of happiness has considerable plausibility. A very good life requires a strong and moderately good character. A happy life will have to contain some value within itself, in virtue of what happiness involves, this value need not be above the average of lives, so that the happy life need not count as a good one.Less
This chapter explains the importance of happiness and the definition of a valuable life. John Stuart Mill ties happiness to satisfaction of desire, and equates it with pleasure toward which, he contends, all desires ultimately point. Kant discusses happiness as the common focus of goal-directed behavior. Aristotle illustrates that a person's degree of eudaemonia (a Greek word commonly translated as happiness) depended heavily on that person's possession and exercise of excellences, including intellectual abilities and moral virtues. Value of a life as simply its degree of happiness has considerable plausibility. A very good life requires a strong and moderately good character. A happy life will have to contain some value within itself, in virtue of what happiness involves, this value need not be above the average of lives, so that the happy life need not count as a good one.
Dominique Lestel
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780231172974
- eISBN:
- 9780231541152
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231172974.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Lestel explains what exactly he means when he refers to “ethical vegetarians.”
Lestel explains what exactly he means when he refers to “ethical vegetarians.”
David Lyons
- Published in print:
- 1965
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198241973
- eISBN:
- 9780191724817
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198241973.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This chapter is about moral rules. Most proponents of utilitarian generalization have viewed such a principle as the ground of moral rules or else have been concerned to account for the strength of ...
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This chapter is about moral rules. Most proponents of utilitarian generalization have viewed such a principle as the ground of moral rules or else have been concerned to account for the strength of certain purported obligations that cannot be accounted for by Act-Utilitarianism. These obligations may be expressed in general judgements about the rightness or wrongness of acts, judgements that can be justified by appeal to utilitarian generalization and which can plausibly be construed as moral rules. The discussion shows how such judgements can be generated. Connected with this topic is the relation of utilitarian generalization to rule-utilitarianism. The discussion considers two main types of rule-utilitarianism: primitive and ‘ideal’.Less
This chapter is about moral rules. Most proponents of utilitarian generalization have viewed such a principle as the ground of moral rules or else have been concerned to account for the strength of certain purported obligations that cannot be accounted for by Act-Utilitarianism. These obligations may be expressed in general judgements about the rightness or wrongness of acts, judgements that can be justified by appeal to utilitarian generalization and which can plausibly be construed as moral rules. The discussion shows how such judgements can be generated. Connected with this topic is the relation of utilitarian generalization to rule-utilitarianism. The discussion considers two main types of rule-utilitarianism: primitive and ‘ideal’.
David Lyons
- Published in print:
- 1965
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198241973
- eISBN:
- 9780191724817
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198241973.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, History of Philosophy
If the generalization test is to have the special point one often thinks it has – a point or force that sets it off from, say, Act-Utilitarianism – then one must bring in factors other than utility. ...
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If the generalization test is to have the special point one often thinks it has – a point or force that sets it off from, say, Act-Utilitarianism – then one must bring in factors other than utility. This chapter suggests the relevance of non-utilitarian principles or arguments that can be called forth by the generalization test. These arguments mainly concern justice and fairness. The presentation here is more speculative than in the preceding chapters. It suggests the conditions necessary for an appeal to fairness or justice, gives an account of one such argument that cannot be reduced to utilitarian considerations, and suggests several different auxiliary arguments and principles that may be relevant. The first section deals with arguments from fairness and the second describes the practice conception of promising.Less
If the generalization test is to have the special point one often thinks it has – a point or force that sets it off from, say, Act-Utilitarianism – then one must bring in factors other than utility. This chapter suggests the relevance of non-utilitarian principles or arguments that can be called forth by the generalization test. These arguments mainly concern justice and fairness. The presentation here is more speculative than in the preceding chapters. It suggests the conditions necessary for an appeal to fairness or justice, gives an account of one such argument that cannot be reduced to utilitarian considerations, and suggests several different auxiliary arguments and principles that may be relevant. The first section deals with arguments from fairness and the second describes the practice conception of promising.
David Young
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198263395
- eISBN:
- 9780191682520
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198263395.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Theology
Unitarianism proposes social concern that is rooted in faith. From the earliest days of Unitarianism, its adherents worked to reform schools, asylums, prisons, and hospitals not because they believed ...
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Unitarianism proposes social concern that is rooted in faith. From the earliest days of Unitarianism, its adherents worked to reform schools, asylums, prisons, and hospitals not because they believed that Christians should engage in good works but because they believed social reform was the product of their belief in God's Fatherhood and the human potential for good. This chapter discusses Maurice's commitment to the life of man in society. Maurice's commitment to and work for the underprivileged was a theological product spurred by his belief and conviction in the fatherly nature of God and his determination to show the Kingdom of God in its practical existence. His concern with the social conditions of his congregation and the wider issues of pacifism, slavery, and education were also spurred on by his influence at home, his Unitarian background, and his deference to Utilitarianism. In this chapter, the three areas of activities that illustrate his personal approach to the issues surrounding society and his congregation are discussed and analyzed.Less
Unitarianism proposes social concern that is rooted in faith. From the earliest days of Unitarianism, its adherents worked to reform schools, asylums, prisons, and hospitals not because they believed that Christians should engage in good works but because they believed social reform was the product of their belief in God's Fatherhood and the human potential for good. This chapter discusses Maurice's commitment to the life of man in society. Maurice's commitment to and work for the underprivileged was a theological product spurred by his belief and conviction in the fatherly nature of God and his determination to show the Kingdom of God in its practical existence. His concern with the social conditions of his congregation and the wider issues of pacifism, slavery, and education were also spurred on by his influence at home, his Unitarian background, and his deference to Utilitarianism. In this chapter, the three areas of activities that illustrate his personal approach to the issues surrounding society and his congregation are discussed and analyzed.
Louis Narens and Brian Skyrms
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198856450
- eISBN:
- 9780191889721
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198856450.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Utilitarianism began as a movement for social reform that changed the world. To understand Utilitarianism, we must understand utility – how is it to be measured, and how aggregate utility of a group ...
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Utilitarianism began as a movement for social reform that changed the world. To understand Utilitarianism, we must understand utility – how is it to be measured, and how aggregate utility of a group can be understood. The authors, a cognitive scientist and a philosopher, pursue these questions from Bentham to the present, examining psychophysics, positivism, measurement theory, meaningfulness, neuropsychology, representation theorems, and dynamics of formation of conventions.Less
Utilitarianism began as a movement for social reform that changed the world. To understand Utilitarianism, we must understand utility – how is it to be measured, and how aggregate utility of a group can be understood. The authors, a cognitive scientist and a philosopher, pursue these questions from Bentham to the present, examining psychophysics, positivism, measurement theory, meaningfulness, neuropsychology, representation theorems, and dynamics of formation of conventions.
D. Ray Heisey
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622099128
- eISBN:
- 9789882206847
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622099128.003.0008
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
This chapter analyzes the rhetoric of President Jiang of the People's Republic of China and President Clinton of the United States in their respective visits to the other's country and shows that ...
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This chapter analyzes the rhetoric of President Jiang of the People's Republic of China and President Clinton of the United States in their respective visits to the other's country and shows that while both speakers conform to their respective cultural characteristics on Confucianism versus Utilitarianism dimensions, they creatively adapt to the other's cultural values in terms of political communication as well. It first presents the discourse systems of Confucianism and Utilitarianism, then the context of the speeches, the method of analysis, the language and arguments used by Jiang in the Harvard address and the Beijing joint press conference, the language and arguments used by Clinton in the Peking University address and the same press conference, and finally, the discussion of the findings and the conclusion.Less
This chapter analyzes the rhetoric of President Jiang of the People's Republic of China and President Clinton of the United States in their respective visits to the other's country and shows that while both speakers conform to their respective cultural characteristics on Confucianism versus Utilitarianism dimensions, they creatively adapt to the other's cultural values in terms of political communication as well. It first presents the discourse systems of Confucianism and Utilitarianism, then the context of the speeches, the method of analysis, the language and arguments used by Jiang in the Harvard address and the Beijing joint press conference, the language and arguments used by Clinton in the Peking University address and the same press conference, and finally, the discussion of the findings and the conclusion.
Louis Narens and Brian Skyrms
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198856450
- eISBN:
- 9780191889721
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198856450.003.0014
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
What is Utilitarianism? The answer is not obvious, and without and answer much that has been written about Utilitarianism is not meaningful. But measurement of hedonic value of episodes on a ratio ...
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What is Utilitarianism? The answer is not obvious, and without and answer much that has been written about Utilitarianism is not meaningful. But measurement of hedonic value of episodes on a ratio scale opens up possibilities various kinds of product utilitarianism without interpersonal comparisons. And equilibration dynamics opens up the possibility of conventional interpersonal comparisons, and the use of the Utilitarian sum.Less
What is Utilitarianism? The answer is not obvious, and without and answer much that has been written about Utilitarianism is not meaningful. But measurement of hedonic value of episodes on a ratio scale opens up possibilities various kinds of product utilitarianism without interpersonal comparisons. And equilibration dynamics opens up the possibility of conventional interpersonal comparisons, and the use of the Utilitarian sum.
W. J. Mander
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199559299
- eISBN:
- 9780191725531
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199559299.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
In addition to and connected with its fresh metaphysics and philosophy of religion, the British Idealist school put forward a radically new kind of moral theory; one which might be called the ...
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In addition to and connected with its fresh metaphysics and philosophy of religion, the British Idealist school put forward a radically new kind of moral theory; one which might be called the idealist ethic of social self-realization. Rapidly gaining popularity, its re-construal of the moral problem came to be the dominant mode of thought in ethics for twenty years, and a major force for twenty more after that. This chapter examines that system of ethics, through detailed consideration of the theories of Bradley, Green, and Edward Caird. Particular attention is paid to the concepts of self-realization, the common good, ‘My Station and its Duties’, and the social conception of the self. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the various textbooks and manuals which popularized this conception of ethics.Less
In addition to and connected with its fresh metaphysics and philosophy of religion, the British Idealist school put forward a radically new kind of moral theory; one which might be called the idealist ethic of social self-realization. Rapidly gaining popularity, its re-construal of the moral problem came to be the dominant mode of thought in ethics for twenty years, and a major force for twenty more after that. This chapter examines that system of ethics, through detailed consideration of the theories of Bradley, Green, and Edward Caird. Particular attention is paid to the concepts of self-realization, the common good, ‘My Station and its Duties’, and the social conception of the self. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the various textbooks and manuals which popularized this conception of ethics.
Thomas R. Trautmann
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520205468
- eISBN:
- 9780520917927
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520205468.003.0004
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
This chapter focuses on the emergence of British Indophobia or British lack of enthusiasm for India. It explains that the Indophobia that became the norm in the early nineteenth century was ...
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This chapter focuses on the emergence of British Indophobia or British lack of enthusiasm for India. It explains that the Indophobia that became the norm in the early nineteenth century was deliberately constructed by Evangelicalism and Utilitarianism, and that its chief architects were Charles Grant and James Mill. The texts that launched Indophobia were Mills's History of British India and Grant's “Observations on the state of society among the Asiatic subjects of Great Britain, particularly with respect to morals; and the means of improving it.” The chapter also discusses John Shore's biography of Sir William Jones, who nurtured Indomania in the eighteenth century.Less
This chapter focuses on the emergence of British Indophobia or British lack of enthusiasm for India. It explains that the Indophobia that became the norm in the early nineteenth century was deliberately constructed by Evangelicalism and Utilitarianism, and that its chief architects were Charles Grant and James Mill. The texts that launched Indophobia were Mills's History of British India and Grant's “Observations on the state of society among the Asiatic subjects of Great Britain, particularly with respect to morals; and the means of improving it.” The chapter also discusses John Shore's biography of Sir William Jones, who nurtured Indomania in the eighteenth century.
Tunde Adeleke (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781496826633
- eISBN:
- 9781496826688
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496826633.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: Civil War
Collectively the documents provide answers to the still unresolved existential question of Martin Delany historiography: Who was the real Martin Delany? Conflicting answers and interpretations ...
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Collectively the documents provide answers to the still unresolved existential question of Martin Delany historiography: Who was the real Martin Delany? Conflicting answers and interpretations compete for authenticity. Was Delany militant, anti-establishment, dogmatic and uncompromising; or, was he pragmatic, utilitarian, accommodating, and open to compromise when necessary? Could Delany have been a combination of some or all of these attributes? The documents show that he was not averse to reaching out across the racial and ideological divides to explore diverse political and social reforms strategies with political opponents, including erstwhile oppressors of his race (former slaveholders). They provide clarity to, and contextualize the “dualities” and ambiguities of his life and struggles, thereby enabling enhanced and informed understanding of the essential pragmatism and utilitarian underpinnings of his thought. Delany was a complex individual who defied ideological, political, and racial compartmentalization; always driven by considerations of what his reason and conscience dictated would best serve the interests of his race; even if it meant cooperating with former political adversaries. The documents also reveal a man who could at once appear unyielding in furtherance and defense of the interests of blacks, and yet not opposed to making concessions; a utilitarian and a pragmatist who when circumstances demanded, could be politically and ideologically resolute and dogmatic. The book highlights the ideological and political twists and turns of his Civil War and Reconstruction career and how these both endeared him to, and alienated him from, constituencies on both sides of the political and racial divides.Less
Collectively the documents provide answers to the still unresolved existential question of Martin Delany historiography: Who was the real Martin Delany? Conflicting answers and interpretations compete for authenticity. Was Delany militant, anti-establishment, dogmatic and uncompromising; or, was he pragmatic, utilitarian, accommodating, and open to compromise when necessary? Could Delany have been a combination of some or all of these attributes? The documents show that he was not averse to reaching out across the racial and ideological divides to explore diverse political and social reforms strategies with political opponents, including erstwhile oppressors of his race (former slaveholders). They provide clarity to, and contextualize the “dualities” and ambiguities of his life and struggles, thereby enabling enhanced and informed understanding of the essential pragmatism and utilitarian underpinnings of his thought. Delany was a complex individual who defied ideological, political, and racial compartmentalization; always driven by considerations of what his reason and conscience dictated would best serve the interests of his race; even if it meant cooperating with former political adversaries. The documents also reveal a man who could at once appear unyielding in furtherance and defense of the interests of blacks, and yet not opposed to making concessions; a utilitarian and a pragmatist who when circumstances demanded, could be politically and ideologically resolute and dogmatic. The book highlights the ideological and political twists and turns of his Civil War and Reconstruction career and how these both endeared him to, and alienated him from, constituencies on both sides of the political and racial divides.
Timothy Larsen
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- July 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198753155
- eISBN:
- 9780191814815
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198753155.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Philosophy of Religion
John Stuart Mill observed in his Autobiography that he was a rare case in nineteenth-century Britain because he had not lost his religion but never had any. He was a freethinker from beginning to ...
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John Stuart Mill observed in his Autobiography that he was a rare case in nineteenth-century Britain because he had not lost his religion but never had any. He was a freethinker from beginning to end. What is not often realized, however, is that Mill’s life was nevertheless impinged upon by religion at every turn. This is true both of the close relationships that shaped him and of his own thoughts. Mill was a religious sceptic, but not the kind of person which that term usually conjures up. The unexpected prominence of spirituality is not only there in Mill’s late, startling essay, ‘Theism’, in which he makes the case for hope in God and in Christ. It is everywhere—in his immediate family, his best friends, and his vision for the future. It is even there in such a seemingly unlikely place as his Logic, which repeatedly addresses religious themes. John Stuart Mill: A Secular Life is a full biography which follows one of Britain’s most well-respected intellectuals through all of the key moments in his life from falling in love to sitting in Parliament and beyond. It also explores his classic works including, On Liberty, Principles of Political Economy, Utilitarianism, and The Subjection of Women. In this well-researched study which offers original findings and insights, you will encounter the Mill you never knew; the Mill that even some of his closest disciples never knew. This is John Stuart Mill, the Saint of Rationalism—a secular life and a spiritual life.Less
John Stuart Mill observed in his Autobiography that he was a rare case in nineteenth-century Britain because he had not lost his religion but never had any. He was a freethinker from beginning to end. What is not often realized, however, is that Mill’s life was nevertheless impinged upon by religion at every turn. This is true both of the close relationships that shaped him and of his own thoughts. Mill was a religious sceptic, but not the kind of person which that term usually conjures up. The unexpected prominence of spirituality is not only there in Mill’s late, startling essay, ‘Theism’, in which he makes the case for hope in God and in Christ. It is everywhere—in his immediate family, his best friends, and his vision for the future. It is even there in such a seemingly unlikely place as his Logic, which repeatedly addresses religious themes. John Stuart Mill: A Secular Life is a full biography which follows one of Britain’s most well-respected intellectuals through all of the key moments in his life from falling in love to sitting in Parliament and beyond. It also explores his classic works including, On Liberty, Principles of Political Economy, Utilitarianism, and The Subjection of Women. In this well-researched study which offers original findings and insights, you will encounter the Mill you never knew; the Mill that even some of his closest disciples never knew. This is John Stuart Mill, the Saint of Rationalism—a secular life and a spiritual life.
