Williams was particularly critical of utilitarianism, a consequentialist theory, the simplest version of which argues that moral acts are good only insofar as they promote the greatest happiness of the greatest number, regardless of any issues of personhood or moral agency. One of Williams' famous arguments against utilitarianism centres on Jim, a scientist doing research in a South American country led by a brutal dictator. One day, Jim finds himself in the central square of a small town facing 20 rebels, captured and tied up. The ca ...

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Bernard Williams, Bernard Williams - His life, Bernard Williams - His moral philosophy, Bernard Williams - Critique of utilitarianism, Bernard Williams - Critique of Kantianism, Bernard Williams - Reasons for action, Bernard Williams - Williams' philosophical legacy, Bernard Williams - Books and papers by Bernard Williams

Read more here: » Bernard Williams: Encyclopedia II - Bernard Williams - Critique of utilitarianism

See also:

Bernard Williams, Bernard Williams - His life, Bernard Williams - His moral philosophy, Bernard Williams - Critique of utilitarianism, Bernard Williams - Critique of Kantianism, Bernard Williams - Reasons for action, Bernard Williams - Williams' philosophical legacy, Bernard Williams - Books and papers by Bernard Williams

Read more here: » Bernard Williams: Encyclopedia II - Bernard Williams - Critique of Kantianism

Williams' books and papers include studies of René Descartes and Ancient Greek philosophy, as well as more detailed attacks on utilitarianism and Kantianism. Williams was a systems destroyer, attacking all "isms" with equal vigour. He turned his back on the meta-ethics studied by most moral philosophers trained in the Western analytic tradition — "What is the Good?" and "What does the word 'ought' mean?" — and concentrated instead on practical ethics. Williams tried to address the question of how to live a good life, with the emp ...

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Bernard Williams, Bernard Williams - His life, Bernard Williams - His moral philosophy, Bernard Williams - Critique of utilitarianism, Bernard Williams - Critique of Kantianism, Bernard Williams - Reasons for action, Bernard Williams - Williams' philosophical legacy, Bernard Williams - Books and papers by Bernard Williams

Read more here: » Bernard Williams: Encyclopedia II - Bernard Williams - His moral philosophy

Williams was born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, the only son of a civil servant. He was educated at Chigwell School and read Greats (Classics) at Balliol College, Oxford. After graduating in 1951 with the rare distinction of a congratulatory first-class honours degree, the highest award at this level in the British university system, he spent his year-long national service in the Royal Air Force (RAF), flying Spitfires in Canada. He met his future wife, Shirley Brittain-Catlin, the daughter of political scientist and philosopher George ...

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Bernard Williams, Bernard Williams - His life, Bernard Williams - His moral philosophy, Bernard Williams - Critique of utilitarianism, Bernard Williams - Critique of Kantianism, Bernard Williams - Reasons for action, Bernard Williams - Williams' philosophical legacy, Bernard Williams - Books and papers by Bernard Williams

Read more here: » Bernard Williams: Encyclopedia II - Bernard Williams - His life

Williams' insistence that morality is about people and their real lives, and that self-interest and even selfishness are not contrary to morality, is illustrated in what is called his "internal reasons for action" argument, part of what philosophers call the "internal/external reasons" debate. Before Williams, some philosophers tried to argue that moral agents had "external reasons" — by which they meant objective reasons, or reasons external to the moral agent — for performing a moral act. If action X was good, and was part of th ...

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Bernard Williams, Bernard Williams - His life, Bernard Williams - His moral philosophy, Bernard Williams - Critique of utilitarianism, Bernard Williams - Critique of Kantianism, Bernard Williams - Reasons for action, Bernard Williams - Williams' philosophical legacy, Bernard Williams - Books and papers by Bernard Williams

Read more here: » Bernard Williams: Encyclopedia II - Bernard Williams - Reasons for action

In a secular humanist tradition, with no appeal to God or any external moral authority, Williams' theory strikes at the very foundation of conventional morality: that one would sometimes do good even if one did not want to because, in order to be rational, one had to. However, one question raised by the British moral philosopher, Philippa Foot, counters this approach by asking: is desiring to be good really a bad thing? Is it not more reasonable to argue that the person who wants to be good is a better person than the one who d ...

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Bernard Williams, Bernard Williams - His life, Bernard Williams - His moral philosophy, Bernard Williams - Critique of utilitarianism, Bernard Williams - Critique of Kantianism, Bernard Williams - Reasons for action, Bernard Williams - Williams' philosophical legacy, Bernard Williams - Books and papers by Bernard Williams

Read more here: » Bernard Williams: Encyclopedia II - Bernard Williams - Williams' philosophical legacy