Book Description

Bentham's Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation is a foundational work of the utilitarian tradition in moral and political philosophy. In this comprehensive guide for philosophy students, Steven Sverdlik discusses the entire Introduction, highlighting its central claims and their relations to contemporary debates in areas such as moral and legal philosophy. The Guide emphasizes Bentham's original goal of introducing a utilitarian penal code. Sverdlik considers the chapters of Bentham's text sequentially, explaining and connecting the work's main themes. These are Bentham's fundamental moral assumptions--the principle of utility and his hedonistic theory of intrinsic value--on the one hand, and, on the other, his psychological theories about pleasure and pain, human motivation, decision-making, and action. Sverdlik explains the abstract psychological framework Bentham develops and how he applies it in the context of penal or criminal law. Bentham's psychological and moral theories form the groundwork of his treatment of the deterrence of potential offenders, the punishment of convicted offenders, and the criminalization of various types of behavior. By restating Bentham's thinking about these topics in contemporary philosophical terms, Sverdlik allows readers to see how it relates to current ideas about the proper goals of criminal justice systems.