This thesis aims to provide the appropriate historical context for interpreting John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism. The central question considered here concerns two views of Mill's intentions for Utilitarianism, and whether the work should be read as Mill arguing for his own version of utilitarianism, or as an ecumenical document expressing and defending the views of many utilitarians. The first view, labeled the orthodox view, as defended by Roger Crisp, is probably the most commonly held view as to how to interpret the document. The second view, labeled the revisionist view, is defended by Daniel Jacobson in a recent article. By examining Mill's place in the history of utilitarianism, his journals, correspondence, and other writings leading up to and after the publication of Utilitarianism, this thesis argues in support of the revisionist position. Furthermore, it is argued that certain portions of the book deserve special consideration apart from other chapters, and this is taken to have implications for the future of research in Mill?s thought. This thesis has four chapters including the first introductory chapter, which outlines the motivations guiding the orthodox and revisionist views. The second chapter provides a general exposition of Utilitarianism, as well as an outline of the primary evidence supporting the orthodox and revisionist positions. The third chapter is a defense of the revisionist position, and it highlights the specific biographical context in which Utilitarianism was composed, as well as evidence from Mill's writings, correspondence, and journals suggesting that he saw the need to write a general defense of the principle of utility and elaborate his theory of justice. This chapter also includes a historiographical analysis of Mill's biographers, which suggests that Utilitarianism is not viewed by Mill's biographers as being especially central to his considered views on utilitarianism. Finally, the chapter includes a section on the early reception and criticisms offered against Utilitarianism, which partly explains why the book has come to be interpreted as it has. The final chapter reviews the evidence for the revisionist position and explains the implications for Mill scholarship in light of the findings of this study.

En el primer capítol - 1. El liberalisme peculiar de John Stuart Mill - es fa un recorregut per les interpretacions més significatives sobre l'obra de Mill subratllant la consternació i perplexitat que provoca en les files del liberalisme les suposades desviacions d'aquest pensador.El segon capítol - 2. Reforma i revolució: el paper de la història - està dedicat a l'estudi de la concepció milleana de la història a partir dels estereotips i prejudicis dels seus compatriotes contemporanis. En el capítol es segueix les mostres d'interès de Mill respecte les revolucions a França (XVIII i XIX). Aquestes demostracions es comparen amb les reaccions que les mateixes susciten entre els polítics i intel·lectuals anglesos.En el tercer capítol -3. Mill: Politeia vs democràcia- s'argumenta la manera com Mill atribueix un paper fonamental a l'interès general en una línia totalment diferent a l'argumentada pels denominats, respectivament, liberalisme polític i liberalisme lliurecanvista (econòmic o de mercat). Mill es situa amb el seu "interès general" en l'àmbit de la tradició moderna republicana iniciada amb les repúbliques renaixentistes italianes, i s'argumentarà que actualitzades a les condicions sociològiques d'una societat industrial. També en aquest capítol, es dóna a conèixer la teoria de la democràcia de Mill anunciant els perills de la "falsa" democràcia representativa basada en el sufragi universal per elecció de majories numèriques com a fórmula per garantir la identificació d'interessos entre els ciutadans i els governants. Aquest apartat tracta, també, dels perills que poden resultar d'una cultura política negativa, la qual prepara l'escenari per a una confrontació ideologista basada en interessos de classe.En el quart capítol - 4. La llibertat - es busca mostrar les diferencies de Mill respecte els tòpics del liberalisme ideològic emergent en el XIX. S'argumentarà que Mill defensa una teoria de la llibertat en la que la defensa d'igualtat n'és una part fonamental. La vinculació d'aquests dos valors presentats pel liberalisme jeràrquicament, primer la llibertat i després la igualtat, és revisada per Mill a partir de la seva teoria de la diversitat dels individus els quals es construeixen sempre socialment. La llibertat serà entesa a la manera republicana com procés d'alliberament de les constriccions i dominacions exercides des de la pròpia societat.En el cinquè capítol - 5. Política i autoritat - es du l'argumentació de la interpretació republicana de Mill a l'àmbit de la noció d'autoritat. Es traça aquí el vincle entre la concepció de Maquivel de la virtut cívica que exerceix el lideratge patriòtic envers a una societat cohesionada i participativa amb la de Mill quan reclama la necessitat del lideratge d'una classe del coneixement, cívica, posant èmfasi en la convicció intel·lectual compartida abans mencionada. Aquest capítol serveix per tancar el recorregut iniciat amb la defensa de Mill de la necessitat d'una nova cultura política i el paper protagonista en les circumstàncies dictades per l'època moderna per a un grup social històric dirigent - el "príncep" o la classe del coneixement segons Mill. També, en aquest capítol, s'analitza el concepte de poder i el d'autoritat en Mill ubicant-lo dins de la tradició republicana.Finalment, en el darrer capítol, - 6. Conclusions -, primer, es defensa la confirmació de les hipòtesis marcades en els objectius generals i construïdes capítol a capítol; segon, es contextualitza el "fracàs" milleà en els esdeveniments polítics històrics i debats ideològics del darrer segle en el marc de la hipòtesi general segons la qual segueix pendent encara avui, a) la progressió d'una nova cultura política de caràcter cívic i constitucionalista i, b) s'afirma la consolidació en termes culturals d'allò que Mill anunciava com la gran amenaça per a la democràcia que és "l'opinió pública". / The departing point of this thesis is to find out why Mill arouses so many suspicions and is subject to so many nuances, not only among traditional socialist thinkers and conservatives in all its variants, but especially among those who come from the liberal currents. The response will be to work on the assumption that Mill was not the representative of the renewal of liberalism in the nineteenth century as it has often been said but a continuator of the republican thought and one of the last political thinkers before the idealogisation of the social and political thought of modernity. In this thesis we will prove that only from this supposition we can re-interpret Mill's democratic theory. From this perspective, it has largely been discussed whether Mill was an elitist, a democratic participacionist, a democrat without convictions, an authoritarian or simply incoherent. Defending this thesis we will state that this discussion today has no more sense. Coherent thinker in the essential aspects of his political theory, it is argued that it is not possible to disassociate his notion of democracy from the historical facts (from the revolution, from the reforms and the social sciences they study) and the theory of culture inherent to his philosophy. Mill had a qualitative and not a quantitative conception of politics. Politics was, for Mill, "politeia" and not "leviathan". And therefore the name of republic thinker acquires in this case a clear democratic ingredient, more than that of a liberal. For Mill the view is that democracy has more to do with the general interest, and from this general interest, with freedom. In this text, we will argue that for Mill no human society can afford to dispense, in whatever degree, of the reflection on the power and realization of it, what we mean by "the exercise of authority", and we will provide reasons to bring out the differences between, on the one hand, the liberal conception of power and authority and, on the other, the concept Mill has of them.

This dissertation consists of a critical component, 'Memoir-Writing and the Post-Colonial Southeast Asian Subject' and a creative piece titled Across Three Languages, Two Lands: A Life Narrative. Critical Component: Stuart Hall's definition of the individual as a subject underpins the critical component of my dissertation. Hall, working with Foucault's concept of subjectivity, states that 'the subject is produced within discourse ... It must submit to its rules and conventions, to its dispositions of power/knowledge' (Hall, 1997a, p. 55). For the purpose of this dissertation, I focus on cultural and social influences that impact on the post-colonial subject of Southeast Asia during the time period covered in the life narrative. In terms of cultural discourse, I investigate the adoption of English over the individual's native language, and by inference culture, as one's first language. In the area of social discourse, I look into the influence of nationalism in the context of Malaysia and Singapore. My investigation is carried out through an analysis of Maxine Hong Kingston's Woman Warrior. The Return by K.S. Maniam and Among the White Moonfaces by Shirley Lim. Through the creative component, I strive to do two things: narrate a personal story and in it, portray aspects of social history. The critical essay provides explanations for a more cogent reading of the life story. In addition the essay brings another facet of understanding to the postcolonial experience, one from the Southeast Asian point of view. Creative Component: Across Three Languages, Two Lands: A Life Narrative is the life story of the protagonist, Leong Kah Yan. Yan was born into a traditional Cantonese/Chinese family and grew up in newly independent, post-colonial Malaysia, in the 1960s and 1970s. Being Chinese and educated in English resulted in her subsequent marginalisation when Malaysia switched to privileging the Malays in the country's version of nationalism. Her migration to Singapore in the late 1970s coincided with the country plunging into vigorous nation-building and brought questions of delineation between nation and self. In addition, there was also the personal struggle between the role of English and her native language and culture in her life. Coming to terms with all these factors brought resolution to a certain degree. With awareness that each factor had left an indelible mark on her identity, Van's reconciliation is a middle ground where the individual is comfortable amidst communal and nationalistic demands. Reference Hall, S. (1997a) The Work of Representation. IN HALL, S. (Ed.) Representation: Cultural Representations & Signifying Practices. London, Sage Publications.

Seven fold. maps in end pocket / 192 leaves : ill., photos., maps ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Geology, 1979

Seven fold. maps in end pocket / 192 leaves : ill., photos., maps ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Geology, 1979

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographic references (leaves [207]-215).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 538-567). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of North Texas, 2004. / System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Accompanied by 4 recitals, recorded Mar. 25, 2002, Mar. 10, 2003, Oct. 6, 2003, and Oct. 18, 2004. Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-55).

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Yale Divinity School, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 1-15, 2nd sequence).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on August 30, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.