Jeremy Bentham, the father of utilitarianism, not only created a philosophical system which sought a rational solution to the problems of ethics, but was also concerned with the practical application of his theories to social reforms, administration, education and the law. This reissued volume represents a comprehensive collection of essays on Bentham-s work from J. S. Mill to the year of the book-s first publication in 1974.
The wide range of Bentham-s concern and the varied reactions he provoked are well represented by the essays in this volume. It begins with Mill-s famous appraisal of the virtues and deficiencies of the theory that had so much influence on his own, followed by the criticisms of perhaps the ablest of Bentham-s (and Mill-s) contemporary opponents, William Whewell. Bentham-s psychology and analysis of human motivation is dealt with by John Watson, and in the editor-s own essay on the thorny problem of the justification of the principle of utility, the w
