A History of Utilitarian Ethics: Studies in Private Motivation and Distributive Justice, 1700-1875

425 Pages·2019·5.843 MB·English

by  Samuel Hollander

A History of
Utilitarian Ethics
In this landmark volume, Samuel Hollander presents a fresh and compelling
history of moral philosophy from Locke to John Stuart Mill, showing that a
‘moral sense’ can actually be considered compatible with utilitarianism. The
book also explores the link between utilitarianism and distributive justice.
Hollander engages in close textual exegesis of the works relating to indivi-
dual authors, while never losing sight of the intellectual relationships between
them. Tying together the greatest of the British moral philosophers, this
volume reveals an unexpected unity of eighteenth and nineteenth century
ethical doctrine at both the individual and social level.
Essential reading for advanced students and researchers of the history of
economic thought, political economy, history of ethics, history of political
thought and intellectual history.
Samuel Hollander is University Professor Emeritus at the University of
Toronto, Canada, and an Officer in the Order of Canada.
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223. A History of Utilitarian Ethics
Studies in Private Motivation and Distributive Justice, 1700–1875
Samuel Hollander
222. The Economic Thought of Michael Polanyi
Gábor Biró
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A History of
Utilitarian Ethics
Studies in Private Motivation and
–
Distributive Justice, 1700 1875
Samuel Hollander
Firstpublished2020
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Names:Hollander,Samuel,author.
Title:Ahistoryofutilitarianethics:studiesinprivatemotivationand
distributivejustice,1700-1875/SamuelHollander.
Description:Abingdon,Oxon;NewYork,NY:Routledge,2019.|
Series:Routledgestudiesinthehistoryofeconomics;volume223|
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2019011770|ISBN9780367243876(hardback)|
ISBN9780367243890(ebk.)
Subjects:LCSH:Utilitarianism--GreatBritain--History.|
Philosophy,English--18thcentury.|Philosophy,English--19thcentury.|
Distributivejustice--Moralandethicalaspects.
Classification:LCCB1571.H592019|DDC171/.509--dc23
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ISBN:978-0-367-24387-6(hbk)
ISBN:978-0-367-24389-0(ebk)
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byTaylor&FrancisBooks
Dedicated to the memory of Haim Chertok z”l
(1938–2018).
And for Maggie Davidson-Chertok in friendship.

Contents
Foreword xii
Introduction xiv
PART 1
John Locke 1
1 John Locke, utilitarian ethics and the moral sense 3
1.1 Introduction 3
1.2 Locke’s ‘Benthamite’ categories: pleasure, pain and happiness 5
1.3 Utilitarian ethics: theological and secular features 10
1.4 Locke’s rejection of innate moral sense elaborated 14
1.5 ‘Of faith and reason’ 22
1.6 Concluding remarks 25
PART 2
Eighteenth-century moral-sense literature 29
2 Lord Shaftesbury, utilitarian ethics and the moral sense 31
2.1 Introduction 31
2.2 The public good as the ‘main end’ of virtue 32
2.3 The ‘moral sense’ or ‘sense of right and wrong’ 38
2.4 The moral sense and the public interest 39
2.5 Summary and conclusion 44
3 Two Shaftesbury critics: Bernard Mandeville and John Brown 47
3.1 Introduction 47
3.2 Bernard Mandeville 49
viii Contents
3.3 John Brown 54
3.4 Concluding remarks 60
4 Francis Hutcheson and the Hutcheson–Locke relationship 64
4.1 Introduction 64
4.2 Propaedeutics: ‘on human nature: reflections on our common systems
of morality’ (1724) 68
4.3 Inquiry concerning moral good and evil (1729), Essay on the
nature and conduct of the passions and affections (1728,
1769), and related documents 71
4.4 ‘Inaugural Lecture on the Social Nature of Man’ (1730) 86
4.5 A System of Moral Philosophy (1755) 89
4.6 A Short Introduction to Moral Philosophy (1747) 100
4.7 On Agrarian laws: Implications for distributive justice 105
4.8 On the Hutcheson–Locke relationship 109
5 David Hume, utilitarian ethics, the moral sense and distributive
justice 115
5.1 Introduction 115
5.2 Humean utilitarianism and the moral sense 116
5.3 Distributive justice 124
5.4 Concluding note 129
6 C.A. Helvétius and David Hartley, utilitarian ethics, and the moral
sense 132
6.1 Introduction 132
6.2 Mill’s perspective on Helvétius 133
6.3 De L’Esprit 134
6.4 Helvétius on policy 139
6.5 Helvétius on ethical progress 141
6.6 Helvétius and Locke 143
6.7 Hartley 144
PART 3
Adam Smith 149
7 Utilitarian ethics in The Theory of Moral Sentiments 151
7.1 Introduction 151
7.2 A literature review 152
Contents ix
7.3 On motivation versus consequences: the ‘moral sense’ and
sympathy 156
7.4 More on ‘propriety’ and utility 159
7.5 On justice and punishment 163
7.6 Smith’s ‘greatest happiness’ principle 166
7.7 Concluding note: Smith in relation to Hume, Hutcheson and
Bentham 169
8 Utilitarian ethics and distributive justice in The Wealth of Nations 174
8.1 Introduction 174
8.2 Smithian utilitarianism and natural rights 180
8.3 The ethics of class distribution 181
8.4 Distributive justice and reform proposals 190
8.5 Happiness and population size 193
8.6 Wage differentials 194
8.7 On the ‘lower ranks’ and the pauper population 196
8.8 Summary and conclusion 204
PART 4
Jeremy Bentham 213
9 Bentham, utilitarian ethics and distributive justice 215
9.1 Introduction 215
9.2 On benevolent motivation 216
9.3 Benevolence elaborated 221
9.4 Prospects for ethical progress 225
9.5 On self-regarding liberty and individuality 227
9.6 On economic equality 228
9.7 Summary and conclusion 233
10 Bentham in relation to Locke andthe eighteenth-century literature 237
10.1 Bentham on Locke 237
10.2 On the charge against Shaftesbury, Hutcheson and Hume 238
10.3 Bentham and Smith 245
10.4 Bentham and Helvétius 246