Utilitarianism

Listener Reviews

1. 4.0(1)

   A dramatic reading of JSM's 'Utilitarianism'

   Since I hadn't read Mill since college, I figured it was high time to revisit his famous ethical essay on, and defense of, social utility, justice and the greatest-happiness principle. I remember loving the clarity and simplicity of Mill's arguments when I was first exposed to this essay in college, and the central ideas of utilitarianism still resonate with me 15 years later. Fleet Cooper's narration was good, but there were times when he managed to make JSM seem snarky. It was almost a dramatic reading of Utilitarianism. Not what I expected, but since it didn't cause me actual harm or pain, I'm not sure his reading violated an actual "standard of narration morality".

   jonas pennell · December 25, 2018

2. 3.0(1)

   Disappointing

   I had not read Utilitarianism since college (50+ years ago) and it has not improved. Mill's treatment of moral utility is fine except it is amateurish compared to what Immanuel Kant explained 80 years earlier in his Critique of Pure Reason. But then Mill was no Kant.

   The narration of Utilitarianism is disgraceful. The narrator mispronounced many words including a few common ones. The raksBooks voice that introduced the novel pronounced the authors surname as Mills rather than the correct Mill. Then at the end he did the same thing again. I've listened to many audiobooks published by raksBooks Studios. The is the first one that should be withdrawn because the narration is embarrassing for the raksBooks brand.

   Tierra Holland · October 23, 2018