Welcome! This website explains Bernard Williams' critique of utilitarianism in his co-edited book 'Utilitarianism: For and Against'. It was created by Kazuki Watanabe, a postgraduate student majoring in ethics at the University of Tokyo and the University of Edinburgh.
The background section offers background knowledge of Williams' argument (a brief explanation of Williams and utilitarianism, the famous cases he presented, and the initial argument he proposed).
The integrity objection section explains Williams' main argument against utilitarianism. I will lay out his argument which is sometimes misunderstood in the literature. Also, I will show other relevant arguments which Williams proposed to support this reading of him.
The discussion section introduces objections to Williams and Williamsian responses. Through this discussion, I will invite readers into the question of the status of moral theories.
The conclusion section summarizes this website and concludes that utilitarianism as a theory of personal morality is so simple-minded that it crucially fails to capture the complexity of our ethical reality.
Author's profile: Kazuki Watanabe
I am a graduate student in philosophy at The University of Tokyo, focusing on normative ethics and political philosophy. I am primarily interested in the philosophy of Bernard Williams and have published several papers and hosted presentations on this topic. I am currently completing a remote study abroad year in the department of Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. My email address is kazuki-watanabe362 - at sign - g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp