In the two related works in this volume, Bentham offers a detailed critique of William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-9). In "Comment on the Commentaries," on which Bentham began work in 1774, he exposes the fallacies which he claims to have detected in Blackstone, and criticizes the theory of the Common Law. He goes on to provide important reflections on the nature of law, and more particularly on the nature of customary and of statute law, and on judicial interpretation. A Fragment on Government, which was published in 1776, was detached from the "Comment on the Commentaries." Concentrating on a passage of five or six pages in which Blackstone discusses the origin of society and government, Bentham offers three main criticisms. First, he criticizes Blackstone's methodology for failing to distinguish between the role of the expositor and the role of the censor, and thereby confusing the question of what the law is with the question of what the law ought to be. Second, he criticizes Blackstone's assumption that the theory of the social contract represents an adequate justification of the obligation to obey government. Third, he criticizes Blackstone's theory of sovereignty, which claims that in every state there must exist some absolute, undivided power, whose commands are law. Bentham points to the existence of states where sovereign power is both divided and limited. In these two works, published by OUP for the first time, Bentham outlines a number of themes which he goes on to develop in his later works: the principle of utility; the importance of a "natural arrangement" for a legal system; the point at which resistance to government becomes justifiable; the exposition of legal terms; and much more. The volume also contains Bentham's "Preface" intended for, but not published in, the second edition of A Fragment on Government, which appeared in 1823. Having by this committed himself to political radicalism, Bentham uses this occasion to reflect on the text and the circumstances in which it was produced. The text has been edited by H.L.A. Hart and J.H. Burns, whose reputations in their respective fields of legal theory and history of political thought are unsurpassed. The volume contains an Editorial Introduction which explains the provenance of the text, and the method of presentation. The texts are fully annotated with textual and historical notes, and the volume is completed with a detailed subject index, based on a methodology devised by Hart.

A Comment on the Commentaries and A Fragment on Government (The ^ACollected Works of Jeremy Bentham)

History

Schofield, Philip

Europe

Clarendon Press

Utility and Democracy: The Political Thought of Jeremy Bentham

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 Brit

Oxford University Press

The essays contained in the present volume represent Bentham's attempt to influence the direction of political and constitutional change taking place in Spain and Portugal in the early 1820s. At the same time as commenting on Spanish and Portuguese questions, Bentham outlined important aspects of his own legal and constitutional theories, defended measures of democratic reform, and offered a vigorous defence of free speech and communication. The volume complements Colonies, Commerce, and Constitutional Law, in which Bentham commented on the disastrous effects on Spain of her attempts to retain her overseas possessions.

On the Liberty of the Press, and Public Discussion, and other Legal and Political Writings for Spain and Portugal (The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham)

Pease-Watkin, Catherine

The present volume contains three essays, 'Of Sexual Irregularities', 'Sextus', and 'General Idea of Not Paul, but Jesus', written in the mid-1810s but never before been published in authoritative form. Bentham presents the utilitarian case for sexual liberty on the grounds that the gratification of the sexual appetite constituted the purest form of pleasure, in opposition to the traditional Christian view that the only morally acceptable form of sexual activity was between one man and one woman, within the confines of marriage, for the purpose of procreation. Bentham offers classical Greece and Rome, where certain male same-sex relationships were regarded as normal, as alternative models of sexual morality, condemns the hostile portrayal of homosexuals in eighteenth-century literature, and calls for the removal of sanctions, whether imposed by religion, law, or public opinion, from all forms of consensual sexual activity, at least in so far as practised in private. Bentham was, moreover, persuaded by Malthus's argument that population growth tended to outstrip food supply. In these circumstances, non-procreative sexual activity had the additional benefit of not contributing to an increase in the size of the population. In the course of his discussion, Bentham expresses forthright views on various aspects of sexuality.

Of Sexual Irregularities, and Other Writings on Sexual Morality (The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham)

Self-Help

Quinn,Michael

The Philip Schofield Fun File 1

Bantam Children

Bentham: A Guide for the Perplexed presents a clear account of his life and thought, and highlights his relevance to contemporary debates in philosophy, politics, and law. Key concepts and themes, including Bentham's theory of logic and language, his utilitarianism, his legal theory, his panopticon prison, and his democratic politics-together with his views on religion, sex, and torture-are lucidly explored. The book also contains an illuminating discussion of the nature of the text from the perspective of an experienced textual editor.

Bentham: A Guide for the Perplexed (Guides for the Perplexed)

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

Continuum

Bentham: A Guide for the Perplexed presents a clear account of his life and thought, and highlights his relevance to contemporary debates in philosophy, politics, and law. Key concepts and themes, including Bentham's theory of logic and language, his utilitarianism, his legal theory, his panopticon prison, and his democratic politics-together with his views on religion, sex, and torture-are lucidly explored. The book also contains an illuminating discussion of the nature of the text from the perspective of an experienced textual editor.

The Australian book of Pommies

Tamerlane

Behind The Curtain

Biographies & Memoirs

Travelers & Explorers

lulu.com

The Panopticon Versus "New South Wales" and Other Writings on Australia (The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham)

Jeremy Bentham’s writings on Australian governance and colonization.\nJeremy Bentham conceived the panopticon, in part, as an alternative to criminal transportation to Australia. This latest volume in The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham series draws out these connections by collecting both Bentham’s fragmentary and extended comments on Australian governance and colonization. These writings include a fragment headed “New Wales” (1792) correspondence with William Wilberforce (1802), three letters to Lord Pelham (1802), a “Plea for the Constitution” (1802–3), and “Colonization Company Proposal” (1831)—the majority published here for the first time. Although Bentham’s most famous ideas emerged from his opposition to colonization, these writings demonstrate how the reformer became a vocal advocate for settler colonization near the end of his life.

Causer, Tim

Americas

UCL Press

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