A USEFUL, HAPPY BENTHAM: WHO SAVED HIM FROM MILL?
WHEN FREEDOM IS MORE THAN JUST A MATTER OF TASTE
A USEFUL, HAPPY BENTHAM: WHO SAVED HIM FROM MILL?
WHEN FREEDOM IS MORE THAN JUST A MATTER OF TASTE
Author(s): Oana ȘerbanSubject(s): Philosophy
Published by: Editura Universităţii din Bucureşti
Keywords: hedonism; asceticism; Bentham's philosophy; moral writings; political philosophy;
Summary/Abstract: Liberated from taboos and saved from prejudgments, Benthamite thought is one of the greatest pillars of philosophical modernity, which impacts politics, ethics and aesthetics as well as theology, history, and sociology. The credit for this outstanding interdisciplinary perspective, framed in a masterpiece of philosophical reflection, goes to Anthony Julius, Malcolm Quinn and Philip Schofield, the editors of a recent volume, Bentham and the Arts, published by the UCL Press in 2020. It was long since I read a critical understanding of Bentham’s philosophy, without finding such endeavour reduced to the classical tackling of utilitarianism, limited to the cynical mathematics of hedonism, or subjected to a form of morality purely and restlessly confronted with asceticism.
Journal: Analele Universității din București – Seria Filosofie
- Issue Year: 72/2023
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 131-147
- Page Count: 16
- Language: English
