John Stuart [ˈstjʊət] Mill [mɪl]
John Stuart Mill made contributions to a wide area [ˈeərɪə] of philosophy, although [ɔːlˈðəʊ] he is best known today for his defence [dɪˈfɛns] of individual liberty [ˈlɪbəti] and for his much-maligned [məˈlaɪnd] attempt [əˈtɛmpt] to ‘prove’ the utilitarian [ˌjuːtɪlɪˈteərɪən] principle [ˈprɪnsəpl]. The roots of his ethics are to be found in the writings of his father, James [ʤeɪmz] Mill, and Jeremy [ˈʤɛrɪmi] Bentham [ˈbɛnθəm]. John Stuart Mill changed the conception of utility [ju(ː)ˈtɪlɪti], distinguishing between higher and lower [ˈləʊə] pleasures, and emphasizing [ˈɛmfəsaɪzɪŋ] the importance of free and active choices [ˈʧɔɪsɪz] between different [ˈdɪfrənt] ways of life. He argued passionately [ˈpæʃənɪtli] in his essay [ˈɛseɪ] On Liberty for freedom of discussion [dɪsˈkʌʃən] and for individual [ˌɪndɪˈvɪdjʊəl] liberty to perform [pəˈfɔːm] acts not harmful [ˈhɑːmfʊl] to others even though [ðəʊ] the views expressed, or the acts in question, were those towards [təˈwɔːdz] which the majority felt repugnance [rɪˈpʌgnəns].
Henry [ˈhɛnri] Sidgwick [ˈsɪdʒwɪk]
Utilitarian [ˌjuːtɪlɪˈteərɪən] theory was developed further [ˈfɜːðə] by Sidgwick, a professional philosopher in Cambridge [ˈkeɪmbrɪʤ]. He claimed that a kind of hedonistic [ˌhi:dəˈnistik] utilitarianism [ˌjuːtɪlɪˈteərɪənɪzm] underlies [ˌʌndəˈlaɪz] common sense morality [məˈrælɪti]. Sidgwick regarded common sense morality as a system of rules which tended to promote general happiness [ˈhæpɪnɪs].
British idealist philosophers
John Stuart Mill was attacked [əˈtækt] by the idealist [aɪˈdɪəlɪst] philosophers. Bradley[ˈbrædli] poured [pɔːd] scorn [skɔːn] on Mill’s alleged [əˈlɛʤd] attempt to show that each person desires [dɪˈzaɪəz] the general happiness from the fact that each desires his or her own happiness. Bradley propounded [prəˈpaʊndɪd] a morality of self-realization to replace the goal [gəʊl] of maximizing [ˈmæksɪmaɪzɪŋ] pleasure, whether it’d be one’s own or the pleasures of all. The two other prominent [ˈprɒmɪnənt] British idealist philosophers were Thomas Hill Green and Bernard [ˈbɜːnəd] Bosanquet [ˈboʊzənˌkɛt], whose contributions to moral and political philosophy involve [ɪnˈvɒlv] the working out of the view that the criterion [kraɪˈtɪərɪən] of reality [ri(ː)ˈælɪti] is coherence [kəʊˈhɪərəns]. A person’s good is identified [aɪˈdɛntɪfaɪd] with the development [dɪˈvɛləpmənt] and integration [ˌɪntɪˈgreɪʃən] of his or her capacities [kəˈpæsɪtiz] into a coherent [kəʊˈhɪərənt] whole.
Friedrich [ˈfriːdrɪk] Wilhelm [ˈwɪlhɛlm] Nietzsche [ˈniːtʃə]
On the continent [ˈkɒntɪnənt] Nietzsche; presented a radical challenge [ˈʧælɪnʤ] to traditional morality. Declaring [dɪˈkleərɪŋ] ‘the death of God’, he saw this as undermining the foundations of Christian [ˈkrɪstjən] morality. He distinguished between the ‘master[ˈmɑːstə] morality’ of a ruling group and the ‘slave morality’ of the weak [wiːk]. ‘Good’ is a term that the ruling group use to refer [rɪˈfɜː] to themselves and their conduct [ˈkɒndʌkt], and what is common is decreed ‘[dɪˈkriːd] bad’. But the weak have different values, and strength is regarded as ‘evil’ [ˈiːvl].
Auguste [oˈgʌst] Comte [kont]
Comte’s Law [lɔː] of the Three Stages states that there are three stages of intellectual [ˌɪntɪˈlɛktjʊəl] development. In the theological [θɪəˈlɒʤɪkəl] stage, phenomena [fɪˈnɒmɪnə] are explained in terms of the activities of supernatural [ˌsjuːpəˈnæʧrəl] beings[ˈbiːɪŋz]. In the metaphysical [ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪkəl] stage, explanations appeal [əˈpiːl] to abstract [ˈæbstrækt] forces. In the third and final [ˈfaɪnl] positive [ˈpɒzətɪv] stage, the human [ˈhjuːmən] mind seeks the invariable [ɪnˈveərɪəbl] relations of succession [səkˈsɛʃən] and resemblance [rɪˈzɛmbləns] between phenomena, and explanation is in terms of establishing connections between particular phenomena and some general facts.
Søren [ˈsɔːrən] Kierkegaard [ˈkɪərkᵻɡɑːrd]
Danish [ˈdeɪnɪʃ] philosopher who is normally considered the first existentialist [ˌɛgzɪˈstɛnʃəlɪst]. His principal interest was in ethics, where he emphasized [ˈɛmfəsaɪzd] the importance of pure choice, but, more than many later existentialists, developed his philosophy in a Christian framework [ˈfreɪmwɜːk].
Karl [kɑːl] Marx [mɑːks]
Marx was primarily [ˈpraɪmərɪli] a sociologist [ˌsəʊsɪˈɒləʤɪst] and economist [i(ː)ˈkɒnəmɪst], but his views have had considerable philosophical influence. He started from Hegel’s dialectic and, in collaboration [kəˌlæbəˈreɪʃən] with Engels [ˈɛŋɡəlz], founded the doctrine of dialectical [ˌdaɪəˈlɛktɪkəl] materialism [məˈtɪərɪəlɪzm], and developed a system of economic [ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk] determinism [dɪˈtɜːmɪnɪzm] which was supposed [səˈpəʊzd] to govern [ˈgʌvən] human activities in every sphere.
Pragmatism
Pragmatism [ˈprægmətɪzm] is a method [ˈmɛθəd] of philosophizing [fɪˈlɒsəfaɪzɪŋ] —often said to be a theory of meaning—first developed by Charles [ʧɑːlz] Sanders [sændərs] Peirce [ˈpirs] in the 1870s; revived [rɪˈvaɪvd] and reformulated [ˌriːˈfɔːmjʊleɪtɪd] in 1898 by William [ˈwɪljəm] James, primarily as a theory of truth. Put roughly [ˈrʌfli], Peirce’s pragmatism is a rule of procedure [prəˈsiːʤə] for promoting [prəˈməʊtɪŋ] linguistic [lɪŋˈgwɪstɪk] and conceptual clarity[ˈklærɪti] —successful communication—when men are faced with intellectual problems.
SOURCES
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. In 10 vol./ed. by D. Borchert. Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 2006.
Lacey, A.R. A Dictionary of Philosophy. Third edition. London, Routledge. 1996
The Nineteenth Century. Ed. by C.L.Ten. Routledge History of Philosophy Volume VII. London, Routledge. 2005