Utica (Ancient city of north)

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

an ancient city of north originally founded as a Phoenician colony phitheater, an aqueduct, and the remains of quays; for a bay then carried the sea (now nearly 10 miles distant) to the site. During the third Punic war Utica submitted tal of the province of Africa. Afterward to Rome, and became the capiit was the see of a bishop, till its destruction by the Arabs. UTILITARIANISM life which represents happiness as the , that theory of only ultimate end to be devised and sought after-not necessarily the happiness of the human race as a totality, and "even as individual, but that of the far as possible of the sentient creation"-in Bentham's phrase "the greatest number." With Jeremy Bentham, the inventor of term the "grea the greatest number," as the end of all true "greatest happiness of the moral action, Utilitarianism takes its more modern shape "has placed mankind under the govern- . "Nature," he said, ment of two sovereign masters, Pain and Pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do." In J. S. Mill Utilitarianism assumes its present, which may be safely said to be its highest, form. There, the happiness of the race is announced as an end to be pursued by the individual, even though he should be obliged to renounce his own in its attainment. A place is found for the martyr's effort, but that effort must be in accordance with the great principle of Utilitarianism , or it is worse than useless. Moreover , happiness is here no low or degrading conception quality as well as quantity in pleasures, , for there is and a lower pleasure must yield to a higher-the senses to the intellect, the body to the mind. Those who have had experienced of both may be taken as judges of the question. They have uniformly given 1 the palm to the higher pleasures, and from their decision "I apprehend there can be no appeal.". By careful moral education of the individual is to be so developed the conscience that its force in the direction of right action will be all-powerful. That Utilitarianism is a theory plausibility, and that it can urge a great of great deal in suppo support of its position, is from the preceding historical sketch. It evident is, so to speak, a self-contained theory; it does not require to go beyond the obvious facts of existence to support its claims; it is plain, simple, and direct; it affords an easy and safe rule for the solution of all disputed questions of morals; and it is in obvious agreement with a vast number of the most patent facts of life. Many arguments have been employed against Utilitarianism. It has been urged: (1) That our powers have various ends, how then can happiness be the end of them all? (2) That all actions producing happiness are not regarded as moral actions. All actions producing pain are not wrong actions. (3) That pain may be used as a means to good, but we must not do evil that good may come of it. (4) That we cannot always calculate beforehand whether the effects of an action will be good or bad. Human life is too complex, and the knowledge an individual has of it is too small to allow him to judge with perfect certainty. Besides, men will take different views of such questions, and thus the moral standard will at best be but a fluctuating one. These objections have been more or less effectively met by the advocates of Utilitarianism, but the gravest objection to the doctrine is (5) that it has no proper theory of dutythe word "right" has no deep true meaning in the system.