book1874

Methods of Ethics

Disciplines:

Summary

Sidgwick's Methods of Ethics (1874) is the most rigorous systematic treatment of utilitarian moral philosophy, identifying three methods of ethics and the irresolvable dualism of practical reason.

Core Contribution

Sidgwick identifies three methods — intuitionism, egoism, utilitarianism — and argues that while utilitarianism is the most defensible, the conflict between self-interest and universal benevolence (the dualism of practical reason) cannot be rationally resolved, leaving ethics with an irreducible tension.

Key Spikes & Highlights

Three methods taxonomy (intuitionism, egoism, utilitarianism — exhaustive classification of how to reason ethically)
Dualism of practical reason (rational self-interest and universal benevolence are equally rational but conflict — no solution exists)
Axioms of ethics (three self-evident axioms underpin utilitarianism: prudence, rational benevolence, equity)
Academic candor (concludes the book by acknowledging the deepest problem of ethics has no solution — rare intellectual honesty)

Historical Influences

Henry Sidgwick

Intellectual Lineage

Classical utilitarianism British intuitionism

Allied Works

Utilitarianism Principia Ethica An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation

Contemporaries & Peers

Utilitarianism Principia Ethica On Liberty

Minds Influenced

No recorded minds influenced.

Intellectual Posterity

Dualism of practical reason Systematic metaethics Analytic ethics tradition

Discussing