This Hackett edition, first published in 1981, is an unabridged and unaltered re
publication of the seventh (1907) edition as published by Macmillan and Company,
Limited. From the forward by John Rawls: In the utilitarian tradition Henry Sid
gwick (1838-1900) has an important place. His fundamental work, The Methods of E
thics (first edition 1874, seventh and last edition 1907, here reprinted), is th
e clearest and most accessible formulation of what we may call 'the classical ut
ilitarian doctorine.' This classical doctrine holds that the ultimate moral end
of social and individual action is the greatest net sum of the happiness of all
sentient beings.
