The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham: the Correspondence, vol. 1: October 1752-56 - Hardcover

Bentham, Jeremy; Sprigge, T.L. S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 048513201X ISBN 13: 9780485132014

Publisher: The Bentham Project, 1968

Synopsis

Volumes 1 and 2 of the Correspondence contain nearly four hundred letters, the vast majority now printed for the first time, revealing in manifold detail the formative years of an idiosyncratic genius. The Westminster schoolboy, the Oxford undergraduate, the student of the law hesitantly seeking in new friends and new scenes a broadening of his parentally circumscribed horizons—all these phases in Bentham's growth are faithfully reflected here. With the 1770s come greater independence and maturity: we see Bentham progressively realising what his life's work is to be. Law and the society of which law is the framework are the focal points of his endeavour. But they are by no means all-absorbing, and indeed in these letters we see much more of other, less familiar sides of Bentham's personality. We see his insatiable scientific curiosity as he exchanges letters on chemistry with Joseph Priestly. We seem him seeking the correspondence of Morellet and d'Alembert, deliberately allying himself with the aims and ideals of the Enlightenment. Above all, this is an intensely personal family correspondence. Two figures dominate it—Bentham's father, and his younger brother, Samuel. Bentham's letters exhibit the closeness and the complexity of these family relationships of his early life.

Dr. Sprigge's explanatory editorial comment has for the most part been combined, for ease of reference, with the detailed annotations appended to the letters and his notes form an invaluable guide to the rich and varied background of eighteenth-century England against which the correspondence unfolds. In all, these and succeeding volumes will reveal Bentham's life and personality more fully than ever before and lay an essential foundation for the understanding of his evolving ideas.

About this title

About the Author

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was an English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer who founded modern utilitarianism. Timothy L. S. Sprigge (1932-2007) was a philosopher who was was professor of logic and metaphysics at the University of Edinburgh.

Edition details

• Publisher: The Bentham Project
• Publication date: 1968
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 048513201X
• ISBN 13: 9780485132014
• Binding: Hardcover