ABSTRACT OF PAPER
Title: Sidgwick's Social Philosophy
Author: Nakai Daisuke
Henry Sidgwick is well known as “the last philosopher in the direct line of utilitarian tradition” following Bentham and J. S. Mill. A large number of studies have been made on The Methods of Ethics, however, The Principles of Political Economy, The Elements of Politics and the relationship between these works have not been studied sufficiently. The purpose of this paper is to consider Sidgwick’s utilitarianism through his three main works; and to draw a perspective of Sidgwick’s system of philosophy consisting of ethics, economics, and politics which has not been clarified yet. For the present purposes, it would be singularly important to compare Sidgwick’s utilitarianism and his system of philosophy with Mill’s. We may say that Sidgwick was under the strong intellectual influence of Mill, however, Sidgwick’s primary aim was not just to defend but also to correct Mill’s legacy. In this paper, we will explore Sidgwick’s moral theory in The Methods of Ethics and the peculiar conclusion: ‘dualism of practical reason’. Although the dualism has often been considered as Sidgwick’s negative conclusion, we will clarify that the conclusion provides him with the fundamental point of view to build up his economics and politics differing from Mill’s. In other words, the diversity of moral concerns between Sidgwick and Mill leads to their different social theories respectively.
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