Cover of Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism

by John Stuart Mill

Read Utilitarianism online, or download the free EPUB (works on Kindle too) or PDF.

Edition from Project Gutenberg. Public-domain rules differ by country, so check yours before downloading.

First published
1861 (serial)
Pages
49Digital editionReference edition
Reading time
About 1 hour2 half-hour sittings
Language
English
Reading difficulty
Not set

A little about the book

Mill defends an account of morality centred on human happiness and responds to common objections about what that standard would mean in practice. He argues that pleasures can differ in kind and asks what gives moral obligation its force.

The final discussion of justice is a useful test of the earlier claims. Mill has to explain why people feel some wrongs much more strongly than a simple calculation might suggest.

Is it for you?

You’ll enjoy it if you like

  • moral philosophy
  • arguments about happiness
  • short works with clear objections

Things You May Not Know About Utilitarianism

  • The work was first serialized in Fraser’s Magazine.
  • The final chapter considers justice and utility together.

About this edition

This English edition comes from Project Gutenberg. The Freebookia PDF has 49 pages. The EPUB adjusts to your reading settings.

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