The Point of View of the Universe

Sidgwick and Contemporary Ethics

Ranked #28 in Utilitarianism

What does the idea of taking 'the point of view of the universe' tell us about ethics? The great nineteenth-century utilitarian Henry Sidgwick used this metaphor to present what he took to be a self-evident moral truth: the good of one individual is of no more importance than the good of any other. Ethical judgments, he held, are objective truths that we can know by reason. The ethical axioms he took to be self-evident provide a foundation for utilitarianism. He supplements this foundation with an argument that nothing except states of consciousness have ultimate value, which led him to hold... more

Similar Books

If you like The Point of View of the Universe, check out these similar top-rated books:


Learn: What makes Shortform summaries the best in the world?