An Introduction to Utilitarianism
From Theory to Practice
An Introduction to Utilitarianism: From Theory to Practice is a state-of-the-art text, simultaneously accessible to introductory students and informative for more advanced readers.
Two key features set it apart. First, its comprehensive coverage of the arguments for and against utilitarianism is unparalleled. Second, it takes seriously the practical implications of utilitarianism for how we should live, with a particular emphasis on utilitarianism's impartial beneficence and its focus on effectiveness. Guided by the conviction that practical ethics is more about how best to use our limited time and resources than which victims to hit with trolleys in thought experiments, its practical upshots should prove amenable to utilitarians and non-utilitarians alike.
Richard Yetter Chappell (University of Miami) authored Parfit's Ethics.
Darius Meissner has an M.A. in Security Studies from Georgetown University and a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Oxford.
William MacAskill (University of Oxford) authored Doing Good Better and What We Owe The Future, and co-authored Moral Uncertainty. Will helped to start the effective altruism movement, which seeks to use evidence and reason to maximize the effectiveness of time and money devoted to helping others. He cofounded Giving What We Can, 80,000 Hours, The Centre for Effective Altruism and the Global Priorities Institute.
