"Utility"as the Moral Criterion:A Critical Study of British Utilitarianism from Hume to J.S.Mill
Since Cudworth and Hobbes,British ethics has focused on two issues,namely,the source of morality and the standard of judgment.This paper systematically examines the utilitarianism thoughts of Hut-cheson,Hume,Smith,Tucker,Bantham,Mill,and others,and the dilemma of their answers to the question of moral judgment standards,and focuses on three important questions that puzzle utilitarians:1.Is"pleas-ure"an adequate criterion of our choice between actions,connected with distinctly different pleasure?2.Is"pleasure"an adequate criterion of settling the conflict between individual and social interests?3.Can"pleas-ure",when taken as the moral criterion,have sufficient"obligatory force"to compel us to act morally?Al-though utilitarianism failed to propose a satisfactory solution to the above problems,its theory will not lose its significance.Each theory has its own advantages and disadvantages.Although the principle of utilitarianism is close to reality,it is not all truth.We should choose it carefully.
utilitarianismmoralitymeasurement criteriapleasureobligatory force
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