Bentham and His Offspring: Alternative Approaches to the Utilitarian Conception of Rationality (and Why It May Not Constitute a Path to a Meaningful Life)
Abstract
This article provides an overview of the utilitarian concept of the rationality from Jeremy Bentham's perspective, who formulated in the nineteenth century the classical definition of utilitarian rationality as a “hedonistic calculus”. This concept was then articulated in the intellectual traditions of Cambridge and Oxford, but advanced by Australian and American philosophers. The article evaluates four key criticisms of the classical utilitarian framework and finally draws some conclusions, casting doubts on its adequacy as a guide to meaningful human life.
Downloads
Article download
Crossmark
License
In order to support the global exchange of knowledge, the journal Iberian Journal of the History of Economic Thought is allowing unrestricted access to its content as from its publication in this electronic edition, and as such it is an open-access journal. The originals published in this journal are the property of the Complutense University of Madrid and any reproduction thereof in full or in part must cite the source. All content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 use and distribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This circumstance must be expressly stated in these terms where necessary. You can view the summary and the complete legal text of the licence.
Iberian Journal of the History of Economic Thought is an open access journal that does not charge authors for article processing (submission, review or editing) or publication.
