The Principles of Morals and Legislation by Jeremy Bentham

The Principles of Morals and Legislation by Jeremy Bentham

Jeremy Bentham's work on The Principles of Morals and Legislation emerges from its historic roots in hedonism and teleology as a scientific attempt to assess the moral content of human action by focusing on its results or consequences. Proceeding from the assumption that human beings desire pleasure (and avoid pain), Bentham's unique perspective, known as utilitarianism, is used to construct a fascinating calculus for determining which action to perform when confronted with situations requiring moral decision-makingthe goal of which is to arrive at the greatest happiness of the greatest number. Toward this end, he endeavors to delineate the sources and kinds of pleasure and pain and how they can be measured when assessing one's moral options. Bentham supports his arguments with discussions of intentionality, consciousness, motives, and dispositions. Bentham concludes this groundbreaking work with an analysis of punishment: its purpose and the proper role that law and jurisprudence should play in its determination and implementation. Here we find Bentham as social reformer seeking to resolve the tension that inevitably exists when the concerns of the many conflict with individual freedom. The Principles of Morals and Legislation offers readers the rare opportunity to experience one of the great works of moral philosophy, a volume that has influenced the course of ethical theory for over a century.

JEREMY BENTHAM was born on February 15, 1748, in London, to a wealthy family. His was the life of a child genius who began reading Latin at the age of three and enrolled at Oxford University at the age of twelve, receiving his undergraduate degree at the age of sixteen. After that, he went to Lincoln's Inn, Westminster, to study law. Bentham was able to pursue a life of study and writing thanks to inheritances from his parents. He devoted himself to the critical investigation and reform of moral, political, religious, legal, educational, and economic institutions in England when in his mid-forties.

Bentham's fascination with the underlying ideals of the law led him to philosophy and science in an attempt to construct standards that could base the social order, despite the fact that he believed the legal system to be hypocritical and corrupt. His reforming tendencies were a key component in the formation of utilitarianism, his now-famous ethical framework in which human conduct was judged by the amount of pleasure and misery it created. A Fragment on Government (1776), An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Laws (1781), The Logic of Judicial Evidence (edited by John Stuart Mill in 1825), and two volumes on Constitutional Code (ca. 1825) are among Bentham's published works. Bentham died on June 16, 1832, in London.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780879754341
ISBN 10	0879754346
Title	The Principles of Morals and Legislation
Author	Jeremy Bentham
Series	Great Books In Philosophy Ser
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Prometheus Books
Year published	1988-02-01
Number of pages	352
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.