Mr. Sidgwick's Methods of Ethics

Abstract

Ethics constitutes the systematic study of the rational grounds for voluntary action, primarily through the examination of three methods: Egoistic Hedonism, Intuitionism, and Universalistic Hedonism. The pursuit of individual happiness through empirical hedonistic calculation serves as the basis for Egoism, yet this method fails to achieve a perfect coincidence between personal interest and moral duty. An exhaustive analysis of Intuitionism demonstrates that traditional moral maxims regarding justice, benevolence, and truth lack the precision and consistency required of self-evident axioms. These common-sense principles are more effectively understood as derivative applications of a utilitarian framework directed toward collective welfare. However, a significant tension persists between rational egoism and universal benevolence, representing a dualism of practical reason that empirical observation cannot resolve. While Utilitarianism provides the most coherent structure for social morality, the logical gap between individual and universal happiness suggests that moral obligation may be more firmly anchored in the requirements of the social organism and the maintenance of security than in an idealized pursuit of global happiness. This structural limitation necessitates a distinction between seeking one’s own interest and the independent requirement to act for the benefit of others. – AI-generated abstract.