The Cambridge Companion to Utilitarianism

Abstract

Utilitarianism, the approach to ethics based on the maximization of overall well-being, continues to have great traction in moral philosophy and political thought. This Companion offers a systematic exploration of its history, themes, and applications. It traces the origins and development of utilitarianism via the work of Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Henry Sidgwick, and others, and explores issues in the formulation of utilitarianism, including act versus rule utilitarianism and theories of well-being.