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It also provides us with a criterion for judging which motives we ought to use. This is not the same as providing the motive we ought to use. In the latter case there is only the utilitarian motive: maximize the general happiness. In the former the motives may be diverse depending upon what will maximize the general happiness. Thus, acting from the motive of honoring a trust may do more to maximize happiness in a particular situation than acting from the motive of maximizing happiness.
J.S. Mill,Utilitarianism (New York: Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc., 1957), p. 23.
“Extreme and Restricted Utilitarianism” inTheories of Ethics, edited by Philippa Foot (Oxford University Press, London, 1967), pp. 176-77. See also p. 10 ofUtilitarianism For & Against where he refers to this article to make the same point.
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Malinovich, S. Utilitarianism for and against. Philosophia 7, 171–180 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02379997
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02379997