Utilitarianism

John A fundamental exposition and defence of utilitarianism in ethics may be found in Stuart Mill's work Utilitarianism. The essay was first published in Fraser's Magazine as a trilogy of three parts in 1861 (vol. 64 p. 391-406 525-534 and 659-673); the articles were compiled and reprinted as a single volume in 1863. The purpose of Mill's work is to define utilitarianism demonstrate why it is the greatest ethical theory and defend it against a variety of objections and misunderstandings. Although it received harsh criticism during Mill's lifetime and since utilitarianism has been hailed as the most influential philosophical articulation of a liberal humanistic morality that was produced in the nineteenth century for its significant contribution to the spread of utilitarian ethics.