Kirjahaku

Jeremy Bentham was an ardent secularist convinced that society could be sustained without the support of religious institutions or beliefs. This is writ large in the commonly neglected books on religion he wrote and published during the last twenty-five years of his life. However his earliest writings on the subject date from the 1770s, when as a young man he first embarked on his calling as a legal theorist and social reformer. From that time on, religion was never far from the centre of his thoughts. In Secular Utilitarianism, James Crimmins illustrates the nature, extent, and depth of Jeremy Bentham's concern with religion, from his Oxford days of first doubts to the middle years of quiet unbelief, and finally, the zealous atheism and secularism of his later life. Dr Crimmins provides an interpretation of Bentham's thought in which his religious views, hitherto of little interest to Bentham scholars, are shown to be integral: on the one hand intimately associated with the metaphysical, epistemological, and psychological principles which gave shape to his system as a whole, and on the other central to the development of his entirely secular view of society.

In Utilitarianism in the Early American Republic James E. Crimmins provides a fresh perspective on the history of antebellum American political thought.Based on a broad-ranging study of the dissemination and reception of utilitarian ideas in the areas of constitutional politics, law education, law reform, moral theory and political economy, Crimmins illustrates the complexities of the place of utilitarianism in the intellectual ferment of the times, in both its secular and religious forms, intersection with other doctrines, and practical outcomes. The pragmatic character of American political thought revealed—culminating in the postbellum rise of Pragmatism—stands in marked contrast to the conventional interpretations of intellectual history in this period.Utilitarianism in the Early American Republic will be of interest to academic specialists, and graduate and senior undergraduate students engaged in the history of political thought, moral philosophy and legal philosophy, particularly scholars with interests in utilitarianism, the trans-Atlantic transfer of ideas, the American political tradition and modern American intellectual history.

In Utilitarianism in the Early American Republic James E. Crimmins provides a fresh perspective on the history of antebellum American political thought.Based on a broad-ranging study of the dissemination and reception of utilitarian ideas in the areas of constitutional politics, law education, law reform, moral theory and political economy, Crimmins illustrates the complexities of the place of utilitarianism in the intellectual ferment of the times, in both its secular and religious forms, intersection with other doctrines, and practical outcomes. The pragmatic character of American political thought revealed—culminating in the postbellum rise of Pragmatism—stands in marked contrast to the conventional interpretations of intellectual history in this period.Utilitarianism in the Early American Republic will be of interest to academic specialists, and graduate and senior undergraduate students engaged in the history of political thought, moral philosophy and legal philosophy, particularly scholars with interests in utilitarianism, the trans-Atlantic transfer of ideas, the American political tradition and modern American intellectual history.

Exploring the life, work and ideas of the great 19th century utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham, this study takes a unique look at his intellectual project from the point of view of the development of his political thought and later reassessment of his own ideas. Placing Bentham's work in its historical and intellectual context, Utilitarian Philosophy and Politics considers in particular Bentham's utilitarianism in relation to his later engagement with political and constitutional reform. James Crimmins argues that, despite being one of the most argued over philosophers of the 19th century, Bentham remains one of the most misunderstood of political philosophers. By attempting to look again at the context in which Bentham was writing and his self-conscious concern with his own legacy, this book offers a new account of this major political thinker.

Exploring the life, work and ideas of the great 19th Century utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham, this study takes a unique look at his intellectual project from the point of view of the development of his political thought and later reassessment of his own ideas. Placing Bentham's work in its historical and intellectual context, Utilitarian Philosophy and Politics considers in particular Bentham's utilitarianism in relation to his later engagement with political and constitutional reform. James Crimmins argues that, despite being one of the most argued over philosophers of the 19 th century, Bentham remains one of the most misunderstood of political philosophers. By attempting to look again at the context in which Bentham was writing and his self-conscious concern with his own legacy, this book offers a new and comprehensive account of this major political and moral thinker.