Abstract

This is a splendid book. A valuable contribution to Mill scholarship in its own right, it should be especially useful to students both for the clarity of its exegesis and commentary and for the introductory chapters on Mill’s life and his critique of a priori ethical theories. In the remaining five chapters, with ample attention to Mill’s critics, West argues as follows: that Mill is correct to claim that on the point of their qualitative differences, some pleasures are superior to others; that Mill is neither an act- nor a rule-utilitarian; that Mill, rejecting Bentham’s strict psychological egoism, offers a much improved account of moral motivation; that, when properly understood, Mill’s proof of utility is quite plausible; that Mill has a good response to the charge that utilitarianism does not take seriously the separateness of persons.