Henry Sidgwick

Henry Sidgwick
Sidgwick photographed by Elliott & Fry
Born(1838-05-31)31 May 1838
Skipton, Yorkshire, England
Died28 August 1900(1900-08-28) (aged 62)
NationalityEnglish
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge
Era19th-century philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolUtilitarianism
InstitutionsUniversity of Cambridge
Main interests
Economics, ethics, political philosophy
Notable ideas
Average and total utilitarianism, ethical hedonism, ethical intuitionism, paradox of hedonism
Political partyLiberal Unionist Party

Henry Sidgwick (/ˈsɪwɪk/; 31 May 1838 – 28 August 1900) was an English utilitarian philosopher and economist and is best known in philosophy for his utilitarian treatise The Methods of Ethics. His work in economics has also had a lasting influence.[1] He was the Knightbridge Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1883 until his death.[2] He was one of the founders and first president of the Society for Psychical Research and a member of the Metaphysical Society and promoted the higher education of women.[3] In 1875, with Millicent Garrett Fawcett, he co-founded Newnham College, a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It was the second Cambridge college to admit women, after Girton College. In 1856, Sidgwick joined the Cambridge Apostles intellectual secret society.

  1. ^ Bryce 1903, pp. 327–342.
  2. ^ Schultz 2009.
  3. ^ Chisholm 1911.