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Methods of Ethics (Paperback)

~ (Author) "1. THE boundaries of the study called Ethics are variously and often vaguely conceived : but they will perhaps be sufficiently defined, at the outset,..." (more)
Key Phrases: practically ultimate end, volitional stimulus, intuitional view, Egoistic Hedonism, Rational Benevolence, Universalistic Hedonism (more...)
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: gation of the true Moral laws or rational precepts of Conduct; sometimes as an inquiry into the nature of the Ultimate End of reasonable human action—the Good or ' True Good' of man —and the method of attaining it. Both these views are familiar, and will have to be carefully considered: hut the former seems most prominent in modern ethical thought, and most easily applicable to modern ethical systems generally. For the Good investigated in Ethics is limited to Good in some degree attainable by human effort; accordingly knowledge of the end is sought in order to ascertain what actions are the right means to its attainment. Tlms however prominent the notion of an Ultimate Good—other than voluntary action of any kind—may be in an ethical system, and whatever interpretation may be given to this notion, we must still arrive finally, if it is to be practically useful, at some determination of precepts or directive rules of conduct. On the other hand, the conception of Ethics as essentially an investigation of the ' Ultimate Good' of Man and the means of attaining it is not universally applicable, without straining, to the view of Morality which we may conveniently distinguish as the Intuitional view; according to which conduct is held to be right when conformed to certain precepts or principles of Duty, intuitively known to be unconditionally binding. In this view the conception of Ultimate Good is not necessarily of fundamental importance in the determination of Right conduct except on the assumption that Right conduct itself—or the character realised in and developed through Right conduct —is the sole Ultimate Good for man. But this assumption is not implied in the Intuitional view of Ethics: nor would it, I conceive, accord with the moral common sense of modern Christian communiti... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.


About the Author

Henry Sidgwick (May 31, 1838 - August 28,1900) was a professor, philosopher, writer and advocate for women’s education. An analytical Utilitarian in his politics, as a philosopher he examined the principles of “ethical hedonism,” human behavior and free will. He developed a reputation as an excellent teacher who treated students as equals and was also a member of the Metaphysical Society. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 546 pages
  • Publisher: Hackett Publishing Company; 7 edition (June 1981)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0915145286
  • ISBN-13: 978-0915145287
  • Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #206,214 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Henry Sidgwick
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
1. THE boundaries of the study called Ethics are variously and often vaguely conceived : but they will perhaps be sufficiently defined, at the outset, for the purposes of the present treatise, if a 'Method of Ethics' is explained to mean any rational procedure by which we determine what individual human beings 'ought'-or what it is 'right' for them-to do, or to seek to realise by voluntary action. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
practically ultimate end, volitional stimulus, intuitional view, intuitional method, hedonistic method, universalistic hedonism, hedonistic comparison, determining right conduct, utilitarian code, subjective rightness, egoistic hedonism, manifest obligation, own greatest happiness, common moral judgments, utilitarian duty, ulterior consequences, sentient individual, utilitarian method, general happiness, objective rightness, current morality, arbitrary inequality, ulterior end, benevolent affections, social disapprobation
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Egoistic Hedonism, Rational Benevolence, Universalistic Hedonism, Data of Ethics, God's Will, Absolute Ethics, Freedom of the Will, Analytic Psychology, Divine Will, Intuitive Morality, Relative Ethics, Retributive Justice, Virtue of Purity
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Key Text in the History of Ethics, February 27, 2004
By ctdreyer (NY USA) - See all my reviews
The Methods of Ethics is Sidgwick's great systematic treatise on ethics. It's also a central text in the history of philosophy, and it can be understood as the work that initiated contemporary ethical theory in the English-speaking world. Of course, this isn't a work that came out of nowhere. In fact, it's informed by Sidgwick's firm grounding in the history of previous ethical thought. And unlike many great philosophers, what Sidgwick has to say about his intellectual forbears is usually reasonably accurate. (See his Outlines of the History of Ethics for additional evidence of his knowledge--and for an excellent introduction to the history of ethics.)

This book is long; it's detailed; and it aspires to comprehensiveness. Indeed, all of the main areas of philosophical ethics (viz. meta-ethics, normative ethics, and moral psychology) are covered herein. Consequently, it's simply impossible to summarize Sidgwick's argument here. Instead of futilely attempting to do so, I'll simply provide the barest outline of Sidgwick's aims and his results.

According to Sidgwick, there are three fundamental methods of ethics: egoistic hedonism, intuitionism, utilitarianism. He wants to examine the nature and plausiblity of each of these methods. The fundamental principle of egoistic hedonism is that what one ought to do (i.e. what one has most reason to do) is what will maximize one's own net amount of pleasure in the long run. The method of hedonism is the method of determing what one ought to do by accumulating empirical evidence about the consequences of particular actions for one's own happiness. Intuitionism, according to Sidgwick, is the view that we have an ability to discern the rightness and wrongness of actions without drawing on empirical evidence concerning the consequences of those actions. The intuitionist tells us that certain fundamental moral principles are self-evident to all who understand them. And intuitionism, Sidgwick claims, is the method underlying common-sense morality. Finally, the fundamental principle of utilitarianism is that what we ought to do is what will maximize the net amount of pleasure for all sentient beings.

Perhaps the most important conclusion of Sidgwick's book is that the method of intuitionism is swallowed up by utilitarianism. For utilitarianism allows us to explain all the elements of the morality of common sense, elements that Sidgwick discusses at length in his account of intuitionism; and furthermore, the self-evident moral principles at which a reflective intuitionism allows us to arrive are principles from which we can prove the fundamental principle of utilitarianism. This, Sidgwick thinks, eliminates any apparent conflict between these two methods, and it shows that utilitarianism, when properly understood, is consistent with common-sense morality.

But Sidgwick thinks that the relation between utilitarianism and egoistic hedonism remains problematic. The final conclusion of his book is that there is an apparently irreconcilable contradiction in our moral thinking. It seems we have compelling, and perhaps overriding, reasons to do both what is our moral duty and what is in our own interest, but, Sidgwick claims, there is no compelling argument that moral duty and self-interest will always converge. That is, there is no good reason to think that acting morally is always in our self-interest, and this is problematic since both our moral duties and our self-interest place genuine claims on us. Practical thought, then, seems to end up in a fundamental sort of contradiction.

This book is mandatory reading for anyone interested in ethics.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Philosophy Classic, May 19, 2008
Along with Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments and Herbert Spencer's Principles of Ethics, this treatise is one of the great under-read masterpieces of British moral philosophy. The book reflects both wide learning and careful study. Sidgwick casts a broad net, and pulls in some very fish.

The three "methods of ethics" he explores are, basically, egoism, intuitionism, and utilitarianism. Though his arguments ultimately fail to convince me of what he is trying to convince me, they are amazingly fecund. You will not stop thinking about this book after you have read it.

The highlight of the book, for me, I'm afraid, was his brilliant few pages criticizing libertarianism in social ethics. This is probably the first such critique that stays on point, and is worth careful study by all who place primacy on liberty.
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