Utilitarianism

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Let human bodies stay priceless

Margaret Somerville | 19 March 2013 |

tags: bioethics, commodification, market economy, utilitarianism

Turning organs into commercially-traded commodities will subtly alter our relationships.

What money can’t buy

Michael Cook | 26 February 2013 |

tags: book reviews, commodification, market economy, utilitarianism

What is the proper role of money and markets in a democratic society? How can we protect the priceless goods in moral and civic life from being bought and sold?

Harvard Munch: when liberty becomes bondage

Michael Cook | 10 January 2013 |

tags: Harvard, John Stuart Mill, sado-masochism, utilitarianism

One hundred and fifty years after J S Mill's famous book on Utilitarianism, the heirs of his philosophy are embracing nihilism.

Is it better never to have been born?

Michael Cook | 08 May 2012 |

tags: bioethics, children, utilitarianism

The joys of bringing a child into the world are not persuasive for some contemporary philosophers.

Even more weirdness

Michael Cook | 20 March 2012 |

tags: bioethics, utilitarianism

All all bioethicists crazy? Or only the utilitarians?

Daleks are utilitarians, but are utilitarians Daleks?

Richard Umbers | 06 October 2011 |

tags: Doctor Who, utilitarianism

Psychology researchers may have discovered a disturbing angle to utilitarian reasoning.

“Ethically impossible”

Michael Cook | 22 September 2011 |

tags: Guatemala, utilitarianism

Are there any lessons for the future in the scandalous story of American syphilis research in Guatemala?

Birthday blue

Michael Cook | 05 July 2011 |

tags: assisted suicide, Australia, euthanasia, human dignity, utilitarianism

Are supporters of legalised euthanasia willing to listen to reason? Maybe not.

Same old, same old

Michael Cook | 10 February 2011 |

tags: ethics, Peter Singer, utilitarianism

The ageing rock star of ethics, Peter Singer, is still playing the same taboo-smashing tunes.

Reaping the whirlwind

Zac Alstin | 10 September 2010 |

tags: terrorism, utilitarianism, World War II

Seventy years ago this week Nazi planes began a campaign of bombing civilian targets in London. Can we honestly say, “never again”?

Truman was right

Zac Alstin | 20 August 2010 |

tags: atomic bomb, consequentialism, Hiroshima, utilitarianism

Dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki taught America that morality was irrelevant.

Locked in without a key

Michael Cook | 02 December 2009 |

tags: disabilities, PVS, utilitarianism

Why are some bioethicists and scientists so sceptical of the incredible story of a paralysed Belgian man who began to communicate after 23 years?

A realistic strategy for fighting African AIDS

Matthew Hanley | 29 February 2008 |

tags: Africa, AIDS, utilitarianism

Discussion of the African AIDS crisis is riddled with ideology. The evidence shows that utilitarian HIV prevention guidelines are failing. 

The ultimate miserabilist

Michael Cook | 02 October 2007 |

tags: miserabilism, Peter Singer, utilitarianism

Just when you thought philosophers couldn't get any more pessimistic, one of them surprises you. 

Truth or consequences

Michael Cook | 17 June 2005 |

tags: Guantanamo Bay, torture, utilitarianism, war on terror

What philosophy can justify the abuse of enemy combatants in Guantanamo Bay? The same one which justifies stem cell research and euthanasia.