The Pursuits of Certainty: David Hulme, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill and Beatrice Webb: David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Beatrice ... Bentham, John Stuart Mill & Beatrice Webb - Softcover
Synopsis
By examining the thought of four seminal thinkers, Shirley Robin Letwin in "The Pursuit of Certainty" provides a brilliant record of the gradual change in the English-speaking peoples' understanding of "what sort of activity politics is." As Letwin writes, "the distinctive political issue since the eighteenth century has been whether government should do more or less." Nor, as many historians argue, did this issue arise because of the Industrial Revolution or "new social conditions [that] aggravated the problem of poverty" but, Letwin believes, because of the "profoundly personal reflection" of major thinkers, including Hume, Bentham, Mill, and Webb. David Hume, for example, believed that to "reach for perfection, to seek an ideal, is noble, but dangerous, and is therefore an activity that individuals or voluntary groups may pursue, but governments certainly should not." By the end of the nineteenth century, as Letwin observes, Beatrice Webb came to "equate the triumph of reason over passion with the rule of science over human life." Thus did the "pursuit of certainty" displace the traditional English understanding of the limitations of human nature -- hence the necessity of limits to governmental power and programs. Consequently, in our time, "Politics was no longer one of several human activities and at that not a very noble one; it encompassed all of human life" in quest of philosophical "certainty" and social perfection. This is a reprint of the original work published by Oxford in 1965.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Shirley Robin Letwin (1924-1993) was a Professor of Political and Legal Philosophy at Harvard, Cambridge, and the London School of Economics.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Search results for The Pursuits of Certainty: David Hulme, Jeremy Bentham,...
Stock Image
The Pursuit of Certainty: David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Beatrice Webb
Seller: GoldBooks, Denver, CO, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: very good. Very Good Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # 8B10_9_0865971951
Stock Image
The Pursuit of Certainty: David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Beatrice Webb
Seller: Powell's Bookstores Chicago, ABAA, Chicago, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Used-Very Good. Some shelf-wear. Else clean copy. Seller Inventory # 1751304
Seller Image
Pursuit of Certainty : David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Beatrice Webb
Seller: GreatBookPrices, Columbia, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 5597769-n
Seller Image
The Pursuit of Certainty: David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Beatrice Webb (Paperback or Softback)
Published by
Liberty Fund 10/1/1998, 1998
ISBN 10: 0865971951
ISBN 13: 9780865971950
New
Paperback or Softback
Seller: BargainBookStores, Grand Rapids, MI, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. The Pursuit of Certainty: David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Beatrice Webb. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9780865971950
Seller Image
Pursuit of Certainty : David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Beatrice Webb
Seller: GreatBookPrices, Columbia, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: As New. Unread book in perfect condition. Seller Inventory # 5597769
Stock Image
PURSUIT OF CERTAINTY, THE Format: Paperback
Seller: INDOO, Avenel, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: As New. Unread copy in mint condition. Seller Inventory # PG9780865971950
Stock Image
PURSUIT OF CERTAINTY, THE Format: Paperback
Seller: INDOO, Avenel, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: New. Brand New. Seller Inventory # 9780865971950
Stock Image
The Pursuit of Certainty: David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Beatrice Webb
Seller: California Books, Miami, FL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Condition: New. Seller Inventory # I-9780865971950
Stock Image
The Pursuit of Certainty
Published by
Liberty Fund Inc., 1998
ISBN 10: 0865971951
ISBN 13: 9780865971950
Used
Soft cover
First Edition
Seller: FSS Books, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Soft cover. Condition: As New. 1st Edition. First edition, first printing (full number line) of this soft cover. Text is clean and unmarked, binding tight, no indications of previous ownership. Seller Inventory # 002373
Stock Image
Pursuit of Certainty (Paperback)
Published by
Liberty Fund Inc, Indianapolis, IN, 1998
ISBN 10: 0865971951
ISBN 13: 9780865971950
New
Paperback
Seller: Grand Eagle Retail, Bensenville, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. By examining the thought of four seminal thinkers, Shirley Robin Letwin in "The Pursuit of Certainty" provides a brilliant record of the gradual change in the English-speaking peoples' understanding of "what sort of activity politics is." As Letwin writes, "the distinctive political issue since the eighteenth century has been whether government should do more or less." Nor, as many historians argue, did this issue arise because of the Industrial Revolution or "new social conditions [that] aggravated the problem of poverty" but, Letwin believes, because of the "profoundly personal reflection" of major thinkers, including Hume, Bentham, Mill, and Webb. David Hume, for example, believed that to "reach for perfection, to seek an ideal, is noble, but dangerous, and is therefore an activity that individuals or voluntary groups may pursue, but governments certainly should not." By the end of the nineteenth century, as Letwin observes, Beatrice Webb came to "equate the triumph of reason over passion with the rule of science over human life."Thus did the "pursuit of certainty" displace the traditional English understanding of the limitations of human nature -- hence the necessity of limits to governmental power and programs. Consequently, in our time, "Politics was no longer one of several human activities and at that not a very noble one; it encompassed all of human life" in quest of philosophical "certainty" and social perfection. This is a reprint of the original work published by Oxford in 1965. By examining the thought of four seminal thinkers, this text provides a record of the gradual change in the English-speaking peoples' understanding of "what sort of activity politics is". Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780865971950