Utilitarianism
In Our Time11 Kesä 2015

Utilitarianism

A moral theory that emphasises ends over means, Utilitarianism holds that a good act is one that increases pleasure in the world and decreases pain. The tradition flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, and has antecedents in ancient philosophy. According to Bentham, happiness is the means for assessing the utility of an act, declaring "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong." Mill and others went on to refine and challenge Bentham's views and to defend them from critics such as Thomas Carlyle, who termed Utilitarianism a "doctrine worthy only of swine."

With

Melissa Lane The Class of 1943 Professor of Politics at Princeton University

Janet Radcliffe Richards Professor of Practical Philosophy at the University of Oxford

and

Brad Hooker A Professor of Philosophy at the University of Reading

Producer: Simon Tillotson.

Jaksot(1081)

The May Fourth Movement

The May Fourth Movement

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the violent protests in China on 4th May 1919 over the nation's humiliation in the Versailles Treaty after World War One. China had supported the Allies, sending worke...

9 Joulu 202152min

The Battle of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the events of 21st October 1805, in which the British fleet led by Nelson destroyed a combined Franco-Spanish fleet in the Atlantic off the coast of Spain. Nelson's de...

2 Joulu 202151min

Plato's Gorgias

Plato's Gorgias

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of Plato's most striking dialogues, in which he addresses the real nature of power and freedom, and the relationship between pleasure and true self-interest. As he...

25 Marras 202150min

The Decadent Movement

The Decadent Movement

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the British phase of a movement that spread across Europe in the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. Influenced by Charles Baudelaire and by Walter Pater, these Decadent...

18 Marras 202151min

William and Caroline Herschel

William and Caroline Herschel

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss William Herschel (1738 – 1822) and his sister Caroline Herschel (1750 – 1848) who were born in Hanover and made their reputation in Britain. William was one of the most...

11 Marras 202150min

The Song of Roland

The Song of Roland

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss an early masterpiece of French epic poetry, from the 12th Century. It is a reimagining of Charlemagne’s wars in Spain in the 8th Century in which Roland, his most vali...

4 Marras 202151min

Corals

Corals

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the simple animals which informed Charles Darwin's first book, The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, published in 1842. From corals, Darwin concluded that the...

28 Loka 202151min

Iris Murdoch

Iris Murdoch

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the author and philosopher Iris Murdoch (1919 - 1999). In her lifetime she was most celebrated for her novels such as The Bell and The Black Prince, but these are now ...

21 Loka 202154min

Suosittua kategoriassa Historia

olipa-kerran-otsikko
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
mayday-fi
huijarit
mystista
rss-ikiuni
totuus-vai-salaliitto
konginkangas
tsunami
rss-kirkon-ihmeellisimmat-tarinat
rouva-diktaattori
rss-i-dont-like-mondays-2
rss-subjektiivinen-todistaja
sotaa-ja-historiaa-podi
rss-peter-peter
rss-sattuu-sita-suomessakin
apinan-vuosi
rss-kikka-forever
historian-nurkkapoyta
rss-outoja-uutisia-pohjois-suomesta