The Correspondence of Jeremy Bentham, Volume 3: January 1781 to October 1788

The Correspondence of Jeremy Bentham #3

by Jeremy Bentham, Ian R. Christie (Editor)

The first five volumes of the Correspondence of Jeremy Bentham contain over 1,300 letters written
both to and from Bentham over a 50-year period, beginning in 1752 (aged three) with
his earliest surviving letter to his grandmother, and ending in 1797 with
correspondence concerning his attempts to set up a national scheme for the
provision of poor relief. Against the background of the debates on the American
Revolution of 1776 and the French Revolution of 1789, to which he made
significant contributions, Bentham worked first on producing a complete penal
code, which involved him in detailed explorations of fundamental legal ideas,
and then on his panopticon prison scheme. Despite developing a host of original
and ground-breaking ideas, contained in a mass of manuscripts, he published
little during these years, and remained, at the close of this period, a
relatively obscure individual. Nevertheless, these volumes reveal how the
foundations were laid for the remarkable rise of Benthamite utilitarianism in
the early nineteenth century.

 The letters in this volume document Bentham’s meeting and friendship
with the Earl of Shelburne (later the Marquis of Lansdowne), which opened a
whole new set of opportunities for him, as well as his extraordinary journey,
by way of the Mediterranean, to visit his brother Samuel in Russia.

992 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 7, 2017

About the author

In 1748, Jeremy Bentham was born in London. The great philosopher, utilitarian humanitarian and atheist began learning Latin at age four. He earned his B.A. from Oxford by age 15 or 16, and his M.A. at 18. His Rationale of Punishments and Rewards was published in 1775, followed by his groundbreaking utilitarian work, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Bentham propounded his principle of "the greatest happiness of the greatest number." He worked for political, legal, prison and educational reform. Inheriting a large fortune from his father in 1792, Bentham was free to spend his remaining life promoting progressive causes. The renowned humanitarian was made a citizen of France by the National Assembly in Paris. In published and unpublished treatises, Bentham extensively critiqued religion, the catechism, the use of religious oaths and the bible. Using the pen-name Philip Beauchamp, he co-wrote a freethought treatise, Analysis of the Influence of Natural Religion on the Temporal Happiness of Mankind (1822). D. 1832.

More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_B...

http://www.iep.utm.edu/bentham/

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Bentham-Project/who

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bi...

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jeremy_B...

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/...

http://utilitarianism.com/bentham.htm

http://www.historyguide.org/intellect...