"What if Everybody Does the Same?": Mill and the Utilitarian Generalization

Pedesetih godina prošlog veka otpočeta je rasprava da li Mila treba shvatiti kao "utilitaristu postupaka" ili ga (re)interpretirati kao utilitarista pravila. Rasprava o tome traje i do danas. Jedan od dokaza u prilog tezi da je Mil bio utilitarista pravila bilo je ukazivanje na to da Mil u svojim tekstovima koristi metod koji je kasnije nazvan "utilitarističkom generalizacijom". Uobičajeno je tumačenje da je prisustvo metoda utilitarističke generalizacije pouzdani indikator utilitarizma pravila. Međutim, u Milovim tekstovima postoje jasni dokazi da je Mil metod generalizacije pre shvatao kao metod utvrđivanja činjenica. Ukoliko Mil test generalizacije ne koristi kao normativni test - samo prisustvo generalizacije nije dokaz da je Milovo učenje vrsta utilitarizma pravila.The debate whether ethical thought of John Stuart Mill should be interpreted as a sort of rule-utilitarianism or in a manner of "classical" act-utilitarianism was launched in early 1950's. One of the "proofs" that Mill, in fact, was a rule-utilitarian is based on the presence of the "generalization test" in his work. This test in the form of asking and answering the question "What if everybody does the same?" is the essence of so-called "utilitarian generalization" - one of two main forms of rule-utilitarianism. The author discusses what the purpose of this test in Mill's work has. It is usually assumed that "generalization test" is normative in its nature, but there is strong evidence in Mill's text that it has a fact-tracking role. The fact-tracking sense of the "generalization test" cannot prove that Mill was rule-utilitarian