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An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislations, Jeremy Bentham's best-known work, is a classic text in modern philosophy and jurisprudence. First published in 1789, it contains the important statement of the foundations of utilitarian philosophy and a pioneering study of crime and punishment, both of which remain at the heart of contemporary debates in moral and political philosophy, economics, and legal theory. A new introduction by the leading Bentham scholar F. Rosen, specially written for this edition, provides students with a helpful survey of Bentham's main ideas and an extensive bibliographical study of recent critical work on Bentham. ... Read more

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Bentham presented the original subjective expected utility approach to decision making



Jeremy Bentham's Bentham Utilitarianism is essentially based on his desire to move away from the moral philosophy of Judeo-Christian ethics ,or the deism of Adam Smith, and move toward a philosophy that could under pin an atheistic perspective.Bentham wants to come up with a decision making calculus which is simultaneously applicable to issues in economics(politics)and ethics(morals).Bentham claims that for all actions there are two distinctly measurable outcomes,pain and pleasure. Bentham comes up with a Principle of Utility(p.1).This essentially boils down to the observation that positive utility(pleasure) is generated by activities that generate sensations of pleasure while negative utility(pain) is generated by activities which generate sensations of pain.One can approve or disapprove of any action to the extent that it increases happiness(pleasure)or decreases pain.Approve ,in Bentham's system,translates as good or right.Disapprove,in Benthams system, translates as bad or wrong.How is this system implemented ? Bentham claims that there are lots(units) of pleasure and pain that all decisionmakers can calculate precisely and exactly.The value of the lots will be more or less depending on the duration,intensity,and certainty of the pleasure.All actions are equally good if the sum of the amounts of pleasure resulting from each action is equal.This is where economists come up with their indifference curve analysis and hedonic calculus.Unfortunately,Bentham fails miseribly in his attempt to demonstrate that human decision makers have the capacity to calculate exactly in quantitative terms.He never answers the question ," How do humans actually make the quantitative calculations ? ", upon which Bentham's entire edifice of decision amking is so precariously balanced .He merely asserts it:" ...who is their who does not calculate ? Men calculate,some with less exactness,indeed,and some with more:but all men calculate.I would not say,that even a madman does not calculate ".(p.188) .This is very similar to the modern neoclassical economist who simply asserts that the normal distribution is applicableeven if goodness of fit tests demonstrate that the data from the time series observations does not come close to fitting the normal probability distribution.

Bentham is the founder of both Classical and Neoclassical economics.Smith explicitly rejected Bentham's arguments in The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759;sixth edition,1790)some 28 years before Bentham decided to eliminate conscience(Smith's impartial spectator) and substitute utility.It is easy to see that the modern Benthamite approach is to combine the Bayesian ,subjectivist approach to probability of F Ramsey,B De Finetti,and L Savage with the game theoretic,expected utility approach to utility of von Neumann and Morgenstern to obtain the Subjective Expected Utility (SEU)approach, which is the fundamental foundation of all neoclassical economics and economists.Any economist ,who claims that he is not a neoclassical economist ,but who fervently supports SEU,is a neoclassical economist.Only risk,usually represented by the standard deviation of a normal probability distribution
,exists in SEU.Keynes demonstrated that SEU is a very special theory that only is sound when the weight of the evidence,w, supporting the estimate of the probabilty relation, is complete.w must have a value of 1.Only in this case can a decision maker define a single probability distribution to represent his preferences.Only in this case can the standard deviation represent the risk involved . A value of w < 1 means that decisions are being made in conditions of partial ignorance.A value of w=0 means decisions are being made in total ignorance.One can just as easily work with D Ellsberg's rho index.A rho = 1 allow a decision maker to specify a single unique distribution.A rho value less than one requires a set of different possible distributions.A rho =0 means that no distribution can be used.Note that this only deals with the nature of the probabilities.The outcomes themselves may also have to be represented as intervals.This is the case with the very strange Kahneman-Tversky battlefield and rare Asian disease problems which were put forth by them as cases of decision making with either w or rho < 1.Yet Kahneman and Tversky claimed that the decision maker had exact,precise point probabilities and exact,precise outcomes attached to the point probabilities.This made no sense either in theory or to the experimental subjects subjected to this kind of bizarre decision problem.

It is extremely important to read Bentham's book in order to understand modern day approaches to decision making.The modern approach merely rewrites Bentham's book using more up to date mathematical techniques and formal exposition.The ideas are the same.

utilitarianism
this is a readable piece of philosophy, that lays out the basics of his utilitarianism. the book itself is high quality.

An intellectual feast
Jeremy Bentham (IPA: ['ben??m]) (February 15, 1748 - June 6, 1832) was an English gentleman, jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He is best known as an early advocate of utilitarianism and animal rights.

Bentham was one of the most influential (classical) liberals, partially through his writings but particularly through his students all around the world, including John Stuart Mill and several political leaders.

He argued in favor of individual and economic freedom, including the separation of church and state, freedom of expression, equal rights for women, animal rights, the end of slavery, the abolition of physical punishment (also of children), the right to divorce, free trade, and no restrictions on interest. But, he was not a libertarian, and supported inheritance tax, restrictions on monopoly power, pensions, and health insurance.

In 1776, Bentham published his Fragment on Government anonymously, a criticism of Blackstone's Commentaries, and in 1780 his Introduction to Principles of Morals and Legislation was published.

A truly influential author!

It's all downhill from here.
Jeremy Bentham was an important social reformer and a major figure in the history of ethics. However you might not know it from reading this dense and forbidding tract. Even a short excerpt can be tough going. However,utilitarianism has been, and remains, one of the most influential ethicalphilosophies of all time, and this was among its modern foundingdocuments.

If one can come away from it with a general sense of whatutilitarianism is, what act utilitarianism is, and how it gets from egoismin psychology to neutralism in ethics, one has done pretty well. Thisshould help the reader start thinking about what some of the problems withthis theory are, how it measures up to its competitors, and how it can beapplied to specific problems.

The best news for those who have bravedthis text is that Mill and other later thinkers will seem like poetry inmotion by comparison. ... Read more

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The Panopticon project for a model prison obsessed the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham for almost 20 years. In the end, the project came to nothing; the Panopticon was never built. But it is precisely this that makes the Panopticon project the best exemplification of Bentham's own theory of fictions, according to which non-existent fictitious entities can have all too real effects. There is probably no building that has stirred more philosophical controversy than Bentham's Panopticon. The Panopticon is not merely, as Foucault thought, "a cruel, ingenious cage", in which subjects collaborate in their own subjection, but much more - constructing the Panopticon produces not only a prison, but also a god within it. The Panopticon is a machine which on assembly is already inhabited by a ghost. It is through the Panopticon and the closely related theory of fictions that Bentham has made his greatest impact on modern thought; above all, on the theory of power. The Panopticon writings are frequently cited, rarely read.This edition contains the complete "Panopticon Letters", together with selections from "Panopticon Postscript I" and "Fragment on Ontology", Bentham's fullest account of fictions. A comprehensive introduction by Miran Bozovic explores the place of Panopticon in contemporary theoretical debate. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was the founder of the doctrine of utilitarianism, outlined in "An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation" (1789). His work on the Panopticon began in 1785. His concern with legal reform and codification continued throughout his life, and he was a campaigner for universal suffrage, the secret ballot and the abolition of capital and corporal punishment. ... Read more

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One of the most important nineteenth-century schools of thought, Utilitarianism propounds the view that the value or rightness of an action rests in how well it promotes the welfare of those affected by it, aiming for 'the greatest happiness of the greatest number'. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was the movement's founder, as much a social reformer as a philosopher. His greatest interpreter, John Stuart Mill (1806-73), set out to humanize Bentham's pragmatic Utilitarianism by balancing the claims of reason and the imagination, individuality and social well-being in essays such as 'Bentham', 'Coleridge' and, above all, Utilitarianism. The works by Bentham and Mill collected in this volume show the creation and development of a system of ethics that has had an enduring influence on moral philosophy and legislative policy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Still a classic after all these years
Mill's Utilitarianism is a very interesting and modern essay.It surely has endured the test of time so far and will continue to do so for many generations to come.

Utilitarian philosophy explained
I read this book for a graduate Mill seminar in Philosophy.Recommended reading for anyone interested in philosophy, political science, and history.

John Stuart Mill, 1806-73, worked for the East India Co. helped run Colonial India from England.Minister of Parliament 1865-68 he served one term.

Mill develops a theory of morality in Utilitarianism.He argues against the group of people who think that morality is intuitive.Intuitionists think that God put morality in us, thus, morality is a priori.Moral rules or principles were programmed in us, we can see these rules, they are binding, however they do acknowledge that on a case by case basis we still need to use them to reason out the ultimate answer for a particular case.

Mill also believes that there are a set of moral principles that we ought to be thinking about.Intuitionists today think that case by case we can reason out what is right or wrong.However, they would be suspicious that of believing there were general moral principles.Intuitionists say it is not up to us to investigate what is right or wrong.Mill would disagree.Mill doesn't like Intuitionists theory because they can't prove their view; and they can't explain why "lying is wrong" as an example.In addition, they do not provide a list of these innate morals we are suppose to have, and they do not have a hierarchy for them to resolve the conflict between two morals when they arise.

Background on essay, written in 1861 came out in 3 magazine articles, pretty scanty which sometimes drives one crazy trying to deduce what Mill is saying.A lot of interpretation is necessary.

Chapter 2: The second paragraph is official statement of the theory.

"The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness."

Happiness=pleasure and freedom from pain.This makes him a Hedonist philosophically.


Higher Pleasures Doctrine- Jeremy Bentham says how valuable pleasure was based on 2 dimensions that we evaluate our experience of pleasure by, intensity and duration.Bentham says this determines quantity in pleasure.Bentham said this determined how much a given experience adds to a person's happiness.

Mill adds a third value to evaluate pleasure by and that's its quality, how good it is.Many don't understand Mill's idea that pleasure has value and quality.Most people think that Mill is really talking about quantity, or they don't believe one can be a hedonist, that pleasure is the only thing that has value, and yet think that there is something more to judging how valuable an experience is than the intensity and the duration of the pleasure it contains.So, they say that one of two things must be going on here.Of course, some people are sure it is one thing, and some are sure it is another.Either what Mill is talking about when you get right down to it is quantity in pleasure and different experiences, or all the different things he says about quality can be somehow resolved into quantity.So that really what is going on is that when Mill talks about a pleasure being of a higher quality that just means that there is a lot more pleasure there that the quantity is much greater.Or, Mill is giving up on hedonism at this point and he is admitting that some things are valuable aside from pleasure.So, when he says an experience like reading a good book or something like that is more valuable than an experience of some kind of animalistic pleasure, that really what he is saying is this experience is more valuable for reasons that go beyond the amount of pleasure involved.In addition to how much pleasure is involved there is also that maybe the experience is more beautiful or more noble or something like that and this gives it additional value.So something other than the amount of pleasure involved gives it additional value.Mill can be a consistent hedonist and he can consistently say that pleasure is the only thing that can have value and yet it is still the case that some pleasures are just more valuable than other pleasures.

The calculus of pleasure and pain is not enough
This is John Stuart Mill's restatement and qualification of the philosophical doctrine of' Utilitarianism'- the doctrine that the aim of Society is to produce the "greatest happiness for the greatest number".
The philosophy whose great inventor was Jeremy Bentham built itself upon the idea of a calculus of pleasures and pains, an almost mechanical measuring of feeling.
However the complexity, contradictory quality of our inner life suggest that any calculation of this type has a certain shallowness and illegitimacy about it.
In any case Mill's idea of utilitarianismdoes connect with his conception of Liberalism, and does have effect on his later thought even as he rejected most of it.

Dogmatism at its height.
Jeremy Bentham is the father of the doctrine called Utilitarianism, and John Stuart Mill (son of the second-rank philosopher James Mill and a kind of mouthpiece for Jeremy) is his most known disciple. «Utilitarianism and other Essays » presents the reader some of the most important and exciting excerpts texts written by the two thinkers, who, despite outwardly embracing the same doctrine, had to do a lot of theoretical gymnastics to accomodate each other points of view under the same ideological umbrella, thus demonstrating that sometimes the battle is fiercest, albeit muffled, inside than outside ideological headquarters. In hindsight , it seems that John Stuart Mill, who ran the rudders of the Economic doctrine of England until the 1860's, had some scores to settle with Jeremy, who was many years his senior and had ben, by some, the person behind the culturally sophisticated (although stripped of any emotional and religious overtones) education John received as a boy,learning Greek at 3, Latin at 8 and revising at 15 (in French) the first volume of the book « Democracy in America », by Tocqueville. The outcome of all this is that Mill developed a type of melancholic character who almost pushed him to the depths ofdepression, only rescued by his second marriage in his mid-life, when he embraced a lot of libertarian and anti-establishment proposals.
The writting styles of the two are blatantly different, James being the pragmatical dogmatist who accepted no exception to his utilitarian praecepts, Mill, on the contrary, the soft-minded scholar who diligently tried to mend the many defficiencies of a theory so rigidly framed and which was supposed to answer to all demands of human action. This dogmatism by Bentham, forced Mill later in life to abscond that doctrine, althoug never converting himself to any religion creed. Worthy of mention if the superb introduction by Alan Ryan, being a book on utilitarianism in itself.

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Of the Limits of the Penal Branch of Jurisprudence, written in 1780-2, is the continuation of An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, and thus part of the introduction to the projected penal code on which Bentham worked in the late 1770s and early 1780s. The work emerged from Bentham's attempt to distinguish between civil and penal law, which led him into an exposition of the nature and scope of an individual law and an analysis of such key legal terms as power, duty, right, property, contract, and conveyance. Bentham addresses the relationship between different "aspects" of the legislator's will, such as command, prohibition, and permission, and in so doing develops a "logic of the will" which anticipates modern deontic logic. He explains that the disposition of the people to obey constitutes the basis of political and legal power, and distinguishes between law addressed to the sovereign and law addressed to the people. Dealing with some of the most fundamental problems in jurisprudence and the theory of human action, Of the Limits of the Penal Branch of Jurisprudence is a work of outstanding originality and seminal importance in the field of legal philosophy.

The volume contains an Editorial Introduction which explains the provenance of the text, and the method of presentation. The text is fully annotated with textual and historical notes, and the volume is completed with detailed subject and name indices. ... Read more

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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

WARNING! DO NOT BUY THE 2010 PAPERBACK!!!
The 2010 paperback is basically a photocopied version, which seems like it was done on a melting photocopier! Many of the pages are barely readable, and there are photocopied notes someone took, which aren't even helpful... I highly recommend purchasing the 1988 version instead! I don't know why such a version is being sold by Amazon.

A good edition with a few flaws
The other reviewers have made good observations about the text, so it might be helpful to shoppers to also know something about the book itself. This edition has the appearance of a facsimile (though none of the s's that look like f's, which is nice) with ample margins for notes. The only thing crowding the margins are Bentham's own summaries of each paragraph's contents, which are extremely helpful and short enough that they don't really rob you of substantial note-taking space. One disappointment was that, unlike the Dover edition, this book has neither a detailed table of contents nor an index. Also the book is fairly cheaply bound; the cover flap on my copy has started to curl after only a few weeks of use, and the glue in back doesn't look like it will last forever, or 10 years for that matter. But I suppose you're only paying $10, and for those who are interested in this influential and controversial philosopher, this book isn't a bad way to go.

Wow!Locke sure kept busy on that island!
Not sure why he changed his name, but he sure wrote a bunch of great books!Way to go you bald headed head butting island man!

The Principles of Ethics and Economics
Jeremy Bentham's Bentham Utilitarianism is essentially based on his atheism.Bentham wants to come up with a decision making calculus which is simultaneously applicable to issues in economics(politics)and ethics(morals).Bentham claims that for all actions there are two distinctly measurableoutcomes,pain and pleasure. Bentham comes up with a Principle of Utility(p.1).This essentially boils down to the observation that positive utility(pleasure) is generated by activities that generate pleasure while negative utility(pain) is generated by activities which generate pain.One can approve or disapprove of any action to the extent that it increases happiness(pleasure)or decreases pain.Approve ,in Bentham's system,translates as good or right.Disapprove,in Bentham
's system, translates as bad or wrong.How is this system implemented ? Bentham claims that there are lots(units) of pleasure and pain that all decision makers can calculate precisely and exactly.The value of the lots will be more or less depending on the duration,intensity,and certainty of the pleasure.All actions are equally good if the sum of the amounts of pleasure resulting from each action is equal.This is where economists come up with their indifference curve analysis.Unfortunately,Bentham fails miseribly in his attempt to demonstrate that human decision makers have the capacity to calculate exactly in quantitative terms.He merely asserts it:" ...who is their who does not calculate ? Men calculate,some with less exactness,indeed,and some with more:but all men calculate.I would not say,that even a madman does not calculate".(p.188)

Bentham is the founder of both Classical and Neoclassical economics.Smith explicitly rejected Bentham's arguments in The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759;sixth edition,1790)some 28 years before Bentham decided to eliminate conscience(Smith's impartial spectator) and substitute utility.It is easy to see that the modern Benthamite approach is to combine the Bayesian ,subjectivist approach to probability of F Ramsey,B De Finetti,and L Savage with the game theoretic,expected utility approach to utility of von Neumann and Morgenstern to obtain the Subjective Expected Utility (SEU)approach which is the fundamental foundation of all neoclassical economics.All neoclassical economists are required to accept this theory on pain of excommunication.Any economist ,who claims that he is not a neoclassical economist ,but who fervently supports SEU,is a neoclassical economist.Only risk,usually represented by the standard deviation of a normal probability distribution
,exists in SEU.Keynes demonstrated that SEU is a very special theory that only is sound when the weight of theevidence,w, supporting the estimate of the probabilty relation, is complete.w has a value of 1.Only in this case can a decision maker define a single probability distribution to represent his preferences.Only in this case can the standard deviation represent the risk involved.A value of w < 1 means that decisions are being made in conditions of partial ignorance.A value of w=0 means decisions are being made in total ignorance.One can just aseasily work with D Ellsberg's rho index.A rho = 1 allows a decision maker to specify a single unique probability distribution.A rho value less than one requires a set of different possible distributions.A rho =0 means that no distribution can be used.Note that this only deals with the nature of the probabilities.The outcomes themselves may also have to be represented as intervals.This is the case with the very strange Kahneman-Tversky battlefield and rare Asian disease problems which were put forth by them as cases of decision making under uncertainty with either w or rho < 1.Yet Kahneman and Tversky claimed that the decision maker had exact,precise point probabilities and exact,precise outcomes attached to the point probabilities.This made no sense either in theory or to the experimental subjects subjected to this kind of bizarre decision problem.

It is extremely importantto read Bentham's book in order to understand modern day approaches to decision making.The modern approach merely rewrites Bentham's book using more up to date mathematical techniques andformal exposition.The ideas are the same.

Interrogation of the Principles Behind Moralsand Legislation
Jeremy Bentham's ideology on human pursuit of pleasure contains many strengths and weaknesses.Bentham's essay, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, separates the two root drives of human essence into categories of pleasure and pain.Bentham stresses the duality of the human mind's pursuit of pleasure, continuing from subjugation of others for ultimate attainment.He states that humans should not be grouped, due to personal conviction and perspective.Although the individual is part of a community, the individual's own pursuance of pleasure categorizes them as a utility; resulting in the term `utilitarianism.'
Several principles are listed by Bentham to support his argument that humanity has a distinct set of motives to create happiness or malcontent amongst the masses.Bentham relates these principles with empowered political bodies and why they continue to rule.One of Bentham's principles, the principle of sympathy and antipathy, praises the human ability to generally accept certain actions as an impersonal blow.Thus, if a utility does not feel threatened or in err, why relate consequences of actions to personal welfare?In turn, should that individual measure out the consequences of others' actions fearing for their own external welfare?
Bentham's perspective on human methodology as a strict functioning environment of social cues has many flaws.Determination of values as `right' or `wrong' does not review the complexities of human social environment.Empowerment was not an anti-puritanical event that occurred in society; but a constitution of human need for order.Bentham suggests that "principle is something that points out some external consideration, as a means of warranting and guiding the internal sentiments of approbation and disapprobation"(75).Assertion of principle as influence on human external action suggests a strong moral power present in an individual's everyday life.Perhaps the rebellion of moral principle has an antipathic effect on moral judgement.The pleasure produced by rebellion of principle dictates a return to instinctual roots; excluding the `civilizing' factor.
Bentham's open acknowledgement that asceticism violates the nature laws of human government, and cannot be fully pursued, illustrates the ties between the Catholicism and enlightened despotism.The origin of Catholicism and despotism, according to Bentham, stems from an unrealistic aim to impose a standard of morality on the masses.His criticizing of saints best illustrates an open reaction to the weakness of asceticism.Bentham states that, "though many persons of this class have wielded the reins (sic) of empire, we read of none who have set themselves to work, and made laws of purpose"(73).Unfortunately, his touting of utilitarianism above the principle of asceticism, as a proper way to establish a governing body, is only comparative with traditional social classification in the eighteenth century.
Bentham proposed a new way to establish morality and just governmental action from traditional monarchical rule.The imposed Rule of Right, whereas kings justified rule as eternal over his people and empowered by God, was a shifting environment that came into question in Bentham's lifetime.Utilitarianism provided an answer to strategic social problems that came with new leadership apart from a monarchy.Moral advocating by reformers as something an individual instinctually knows is right, was a key concept in utilitarianism.Therefore, pursuance of pleasure above pain would produce just results in a newly formed government.
Pleasure, in the strictest sense, took a prominent place in executive rule over a government.Bentham also writes that good tendency sometimes counteracts pursuance of pleasure in legislative and judicial matters.He best expresses this by writing, "It is not to be expected that this process should be strictly pursued previously to every moral judgement"(88).Considering the objective process of judicial decision as a moral and just environment was revolutionary.Morality, without the ties of asceticism, could and did exist in a ruling environment, ultimately usurping previous ideas that Rule of Right contained eternal, prophetic principle.Bentham's ideas set a cornerstone for other studies of social morality, thus contributing to the new field of sociology.
Bentham's idea of human pleasure and pain being either simple or complex seems very generalistic in approach.He suggests that pleasure and pain are bound into simple and complex categories, therefore never transpiring into different classifications.The elementary view on pursuance of pleasure and pain seems vague for a study of the human condition.Bentham writes that, "the simple ones are those which cannot any one of them be resolved into more," creating a moral quandary (90).For example, Bentham's idea that "the end of the law is to augment happiness" is a just principle of government (97).Unfortunately, law must sometimes contain happiness to produce security.Duality of principle is discussed in his writings, but for every dark and light area there is a gray area.
Jeremy Bentham pioneered root elements of human motivation and morality.He conceptualized a government that founded itself on pursuance of pleasure as just rule.Character of individualsis attained through positive motivation, but for every individual of good character lies the possibility of bad character.Corruption was possible, and presented itself in many forms throughout human history.Efforts to catalogue unpleasant and pleasant dispositions find that government that is founded on positive principle is always corrupted by human condition.Jeremy Bentham's approach in rediscovery of individual strains, through principles, shed a new light on morality.

I hope you enjoy this work as much as I did. ... Read more

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This is the major work of Bentham's last years. In this work, he develops in a final form the theory and institutions of an ideal representative democracy addressed to "all nations and all governments professing liberal opinions." ... Read more

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Presenting the core arguments of three works in religionby late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century English utilitarianphilosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) – ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCEOF NATURAL RELIGION ON THE TEMPORAL HAPPINESS OF MANKIND; NOT PAUL,BUT JESUS; and THE CHURCH-OF-ENGLAND CATECHISM EXAMINED – ProfessorDelos B. McKown defends them vigorously against attacks by religiousscholars of subsequent periods and then offers his own analysis of thestrengths and shortcomings of Bentham’s thought in each book.Takentogether, these three discussions make Bentham’s published stance onreligion accessible for the first time to modern readers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Real Gem
This book introduces the reader to three lesser known works written by Jeremy Bentham around the end of the 18th century.It provides insight into religious discussion during the Enlightenment, a time in England when it was dangerous to publish anything that might be considered objectionable or heretical by the civil or religious authorities.The author, Dr. Delos McKown, makes the experience interesting and edifying.

The book has three parts with each part devoted to one of Bentham's works.There are three chapters in each part of the book.The first chapter in each part provides the author's analysis and commentary on the work.A second chapter then defends Bentham's views and a third chapter criticizes those views.The chapters on the defense and criticism of Bentham provide thorough and balanced discussions including views from other researchers.The author also includes numerous comments and supporting information in copious notes at the end of each section, plus a very comprehensive set of references.

In the first work, Analysis of the Influence of Natural Religion on the Temporal Happiness of Mankind,Bentham's objective was to determine whether natural religion (defined as "unrevealed religion", i.e., deism) produced "happiness or misery in the present life." He examines the vagaries of the Deity, the uncertainty of rewards and punishments in the after life, and the activities of the clergy. The conclusion is that natural religion produces more misery than happiness and that religion enhanced by revelation makes things even worse.The author points out that present day proponents of"scientific creationism"use the same kind of fallacious reasoning that was used against Bentham in his day.

The second work, Not Paul, but Jesus, is the longest work included in the book and is the source of the book's title.Originally published under a pseudo-name, it wasdeemed "to do infinite injury to the Establishment."Here Bentham carefully analyzes accounts of Paul's teachings, travels and activities from several sources and points out many inconsistencies.He also explores the differences between the teachings and ministry of Paul and those of Peter and James.Bentham also attributes the invention of the antichrist to Paul.

The third work of Bentham, TheChurch-of-England Catechism Examined, is a question by question logical analysis of the catechism in which Bentham applies his theory of fictions, points out inconsistencies with biblical texts, and subtlely ridicules the proscribed responses.

Dr. McKown has amassed a wealth of information in this book, and has presented it in a way that makes it very enjoyable and enlightnening for the reader.His long experience as a very effective and popular university professor is clearly evident in Dr. McKown's erudite and often witty commentary.

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General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1791Original Publisher: PayneSubjects: Social Science / CriminologySocial Science / PenologyNotes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free.Excerpt: PREFACE.MORALS reformed -- health preferv- ed -- indnflry invigorated -- iiiftruflioit diffused -- public burthens lightened -- Economy feated as it were upon a rock -- the Got-din knot of the Poof-Laws not cut but untied--all by a Jimple idea in Architecture!- Thusmuch 1 ventured to fay on laying down the pen -- and thus much I fhou'. J perhaps have faid on taking it up, if at that early period I had feen the whole of the way before me. -- A new mode of obtaining power,powerpower of mind over mind, in a quantity hidierto without example: and that, to a degree equally without example, fecured by whoever choofes to have it fo, againft abufe. -- Such is the engine: fuch the work that may be done with it. -- How far the expectations thus held out have been fulfilled, the Reader will decide.The Letters which compofe the body of this tract, were written at Crecheff in Ruflia, and from thence fent to England ii the year 1/87, much about the fame time with the Defence of Usury. They Were addrefled to a particular perfon, with a view to a particular eftablifliment then in contemplation, (intelligence of which had found its way to me through the medium of an Englijth newfpaper) and withoutanyany immediate or very determinate view to general publication. The attention of the public in Ireland having been drawn to one of the fubjedts to which they relate by the notice given not long ago by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, of a difpofition on the part of Government there, to make trial of the Penitentiary fyftem... ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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This set reprints three classic volumes on Jeremy Bentham's economic writings. Before these volumes were published a great deal of Jeremy Bentham's economic work was completely unknown. All three volumes contain historical introductions and collections of passages from Bentham's non-economic writings which illustrate his views on economics as a science and the problems of methodology.

First published by George Allen & Unwin in the 1950s. ... Read more

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Utility and Democracy is the first comprehensive historical account of the political thought of Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), the philosopher and reformer. Philip Schofield draws on his extensive knowledge of Bentham's unpublished manuscripts and original printed texts, and on the new, authoritative edition of The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham. A compelling narrative charts the way in which Bentham applied his utilitarian philosophy to the rapidly changing circumstances of his age.

Schofield begins with a lucid account of Bentham's insights in the fields of logic and language, and in particular his theory of real and fictitious entities, which lie at the foundation of his thought. He proceeds to show how these insights brought Bentham to the principle of utility, which led him in turn to produce the first systematic defense of democracy from a utilitarian perspective. In contrast to previous scholarship, which claims that Bentham's "conversion" or "transition" to political radicalism took place either at the time of the French Revolution or following his meeting with James Mill in 1808 or 1809, Professor Schofield shows that the process began in or around 1804 when the notion of sinister interest emerged in Bentham's thought. Bentham appreciated that rulers, rather than being motivated by a desire to promote the greatest happiness of those subject to them, aimed to promote their own happiness, whatever the overall cost to the community.

In his constitutional writings of the 1820s, which he addressed to "all nations professing liberal opinions," Bentham argued that the proper end of constitutional design was to maximize official aptitude and minimize government expense, and that the publicity of official actions, within the context of a republican system of government where sovereignty lay in the people, was the means to achieve it. Bentham's commitment to radical reform led him to advocate the abolition of the British monarchy and House of Lords, the replacement of the Common Law with a codified system of law, and the "euthanasia" of the Anglican Church. ... Read more

Product Description
In his introduction to these closely linked essays Professor Hart offers both an exposition and a critical assessment of some central issues in jurisprudence and political theory. Some of the essays touch on themes to which little attention has been paid, such as Bentham's identification of the forms of mysitification protecting the law from criticism; his relation to Beccaria; and his conversion to democratic radicalism and a passionate admiration for the United States. ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1859 edition by William Tait; Simpkin, Marshall, & Co., Edinburgh; London. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Orgasm of the mind
Are you kidding me?I am the first person to rate this masterpiece?
What can I say?This book is indispensable for those interested in Philosophy, Political Science, and just about anything you can think of.
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Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Publisher: London : J. and H. L. Hunt; Publication date: 1824; Subjects: Political science; Great Britain; Parliamentary practice; Judgment (Logic); Mathematics / Logic; Philosophy / Logic; Philosophy / Political; Political Science / General; Political Science / Government / Legislative Branch; Political Science / History ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more