The volumes that comprise this set are also available for purchase individually: please see their separate listings for further information. A reprint of the 1969 Oxford University Press edition. Volume I: Hobbes—Gay: Thomas Hobbes, Richard Cumberland, Ralph Cudworth, John Locke, Lord Shaftesbury, Samuel Clarke, Bernard Mandeville, William Wollaston, Francis Hutcheson, Joseph Butler, John Balguy, John Gay. Volume II: Hume—Bentham: David Hume, David Hartley, Richard Price, Adam Smith, William Paley, Thomas Reid, Jeremy Bentham.

"These two attractive volumes replace Selby-Bigge's well-known collection. . . . The present selection is superior in several respects. It is more inclusive, now that Hume, Hartley, Reid, and Cumberland are put in. . . . It is better arranged, the writers now appearing in chronological order. And besides reediting of the texts, the analytical index has been enormously enlarged and improved. . . . The book will be much more useful to students than its predecessor." -- British Book News

Liberal Utilitarianism and Applied Ethics explores the foundations of early utilitarianism and, at the same time, the theoretical bases of social ethics and policy in modern Western welfare states. Matti Hayry sees the main reason for utilitarianism's growing disrepute among moral philosophers is that its principles cannot legitimately be extended to situations where the basic needs of the individuals involved are in conflict. He is able to formulate a solution to this fundamental problem by arguing convincingly that by combining a limited version of liberal utilitarianism and the methods of applied ethics, we are able to define our moral duties and rights. Liberal Utilitarianism and Applied Ethics will appeal to students and teachers of philosophy who are interested in the doctrine of utilitarianism or in ethical decison-making.