Description
Book SynopsisSharing insights from teaching John Stuart Mill for many years, the eminent philosopher Philip Kitcher makes a cogent case for why we should read this nineteenth-century thinker now. He reflects on Mill’s ideas in the context of contemporary ethical, social, and political issues.
Trade ReviewThe astute examination of Mill’s attempts to balance conflicts between universal equality and individual agency offer much to ponder. * Publishers Weekly *
Kitcher eloquently presents a flexible, pragmatic Mill, a Mill whose main concerns are each person's self-cultivation, both intellectual and emotional, and the bonds of public deliberation that link people to one another. Using down-to-earth examples, he then shows how this Mill can confront many of the key problems of our era. A deeply impressive achievement and a marvelous addition to the Core Knowledge series. -- Martha C. Nussbaum, University of Chicago
In this provocative book, Philip Kitcher challenges the conventional views of Mill as a straightforward utilitarian or libertarian. His Mill is a conflicted humanist and progressive. He thereby exposes the tensions in Mill's thought and turns him from someone whose lessons we have already learned into someone who speaks to our current problems. -- Elizabeth Anderson, author of
Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives (and Why We Don't Talk About It)Written in a topical and lively style, this book relates Mill to the present through four central questions in ethical and political theory. Kitcher’s account gives Mill’s thought a new sense of urgency and relevance to today’s issues. -- Dean Moyar, author of
Hegel’s Value: Justice as the Living GoodKitcher is one of the most interesting philosophers writing today. This remarkable book shows why. In lucid, jargon-free prose, it makes the case for reading Mill as a progressive, a humanist, and a philosophical pragmatist. It promises to delight philosophers and non-philosophers alike -- Charles Barzun, University of Virginia
An excellent starting point for the eager and the intrepid who wish to plunge into the purpose driven yet ambivalent world of utilitarianism. * Blogternator *
Making Mill clear, relevant, and vibrant for new readers and doing so in a way that connects with an enormous and controversial secondary literature. Philip Kitcher does a marvelous job of both. * H-Albion *
Table of ContentsPreface
1. The Making of a Conflicted Humanist
2. Freedom for All?
3. Democracy in Danger?
4. Inevitable Inequality?
5. When Do the Numbers Count?
Coda: Progressive Mill
Suggestions for Further Reading
Index
