In the history of modern thought, while Jeremy Bentham’s influence in the fields of ethics and jurisprudence is indisputable, the depth and originality of his philosophical thought have never received their due recognition. Many critics have long argued that utilitarian thought lacks a philosophical foundation and that Bentham himself made no original philosophical contributions. The originator of this critique was none other than Bentham’s student, John Stuart Mill, who asserted in 1838 that Bentham ‘was not a great philosopher, but he was a great reformer in philosophy’ (Essays on Ethics, Religion and Society 1969).
However, the publication of Bentham’s significant philosophical work, Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar, edited by Philip Schofield of the Bentham Project at University College London, provides decisive textual evidence for a re-evaluation of Bentham’s philosophical contributions. Based entirely on Bentham’s autograph manuscripts from his peak creative period between 1813 and 1816, this work presents, for the first time in its ‘authentic form’, Bentham’s systematic thinking in the fields of logic, ethics, ontology, and the philosophy of language. As an independent and systematic philosophical treatise, this work not only thoroughly refutes the traditional prejudice that ‘Bentham had no philosophy’, but also reveals the internal consistency and profound originality of Bentham’s philosophical system, as well as its practical relevance and critical potential in the twenty-first century, an era replete with algorithmic governance, information overload, and ideological obfuscation.
The reason Mill’s criticism had such a substantial negative impact lies not only in his own academic status but also in the fact that, as Bentham’s closest heir, he delivered what appeared to be an authoritative final verdict on Bentham’s philosophical legacy. Furthermore, the Bowring edition of The Works of Jeremy Bentham, published between 1838 and 1843, suffered from incompleteness, arbitrary editing, and even numerous errors, resulting in the key texts of Bentham’s philosophical thought not being properly presented. For example, Chapter 18 of the present volume, ‘New Ideas Derived from Logic’, appeared in the Bowring edition merely as an appendix to Nomography. This treatment demoted an overarching philosophical summary to a specific technical tool for legislation, completely obscuring Bentham’s ambition to construct a unified system of thought.
Schofield’s new edition represents an ‘academic archaeology’ directed precisely against this historical misreading. Fully returning to Bentham’s manuscripts and strictly adhering to the chronology and internal logic of the text’s generation, Schofield has restored the expression of Bentham’s original text. Through the detailed editorial introduction and the table of manuscripts, readers can clearly see that these essays, which seemingly belong to different disciplines, are in fact a collaborative exploration conducted by Bentham during the same period, centring on the same core problem: how to establish a clear, systematic analytical framework for the field of thought and action that serves well-being. For instance, the manuscript dates show that the writing of Ethics was interspersed with the creation of Logic, which clearly proves that Bentham’s ethical thinking was not isolated moralising but rather the application of his logical framework in a specific domain. Therefore, the value of this work lies not only in presenting the ‘authentic text’ for the first time but also in its restoration of the ‘authentic structure’ of Bentham’s thought, enabling us to overcome the ‘interference’ of Mill and Bowring and directly comprehend Bentham’s core philosophical ideas.
This work consists of four essays: Logic, Ethics, Didacologia, and Universal Grammar. While relatively independent, the four essays complement each other. Logic can be viewed as the intellectual framework, Ethics as the guide to action, Didacologia as the map of knowledge, and Universal Grammar as the foundation for communication. This work reveals three internally linked and progressively unfolding core elements of Bentham’s philosophy: a language-centred ontology; a practical logic serving utility; and a system of ethics based thereon.
Bentham’s most original contribution to philosophical thought is embodied in Chapter 9 of Logic, ‘Ontology’. Bentham revolutionised the classification of all entities in the world, or more accurately, the objects referred to by all noun-substantives, into two categories: real entities and fictitious entities. Bentham simultaneously developed a rigorous technique of linguistic analysis, namely ‘paraphrasis’, ‘phraseoplerosis’, and ‘archetypation’. This technique reveals the true meaning of a proposition containing the name of a fictitious entity by translating it into an equivalent proposition that discusses only real entities and their relations. This technique is not merely a tool for logical analysis but also an effective instrument Bentham used to clarify the countless confusions and myths in legal, moral, and political language. Bentham’s rigorous method of linguistic analysis constituted the linguistic foundation of his ‘legislative science’, laying a significant groundwork for the development of modern legal positivism and analytic philosophy. Without grasping the philosophical foundation of Bentham’s thought, particularly his profound understanding of ontology, we cannot truly grasp the logical coherence within Bentham’s system of thought, nor his revolutionary contribution to modern thought.
Furthermore, although Bentham does not directly employ the exact term ‘logic of the will’ in this book, he systematically and thoroughly explores the core ideas and related elements that constitute the logic of the will. Bentham distinguishes the volitional faculty from the traditional judicial faculty on ontological grounds (p. 20), directly associating the will with human thelematic (will-driven) actions, thereby perfecting the entire theoretical system concerning will, action, law, and morality. This work can be regarded as a methodological foundation for the logic of the will.
Bentham’s theory of logic explicitly opposed the Aristotelian tradition that viewed logic as an abstract art of disputation. For him, logic was a ‘master art’, whose sole utility lay in ‘giving direction to the human mind in the most optimal way’, thereby serving the ultimate end of promoting well-being. To this end, Bentham developed two core logical tools: methodisation, which Bentham regarded as the ‘prime minister’ of logic and the core operation for constructing knowledge systems, and exhaustive dichotomy, which was his method of logical division. Unlike Aristotle’s multipartite classification, his bifurcation ensures the completeness and mutual exclusivity of the classification by introducing a negative term (that is, strictly dividing a class into ‘A’ and ‘not-A’), reflecting his effort to elevate the social sciences to a level of precision comparable to the natural sciences.
Bentham extended his logical principles to language, putting forward a profoundly insightful view: the proposition precedes the word. He believed that the basic unit of thought is the complete proposition, while individual words are merely fragments separated from the proposition through ‘abstraction’ and ‘decomposition’. Bentham’s persistence regarding linguistic clarity stemmed from his deep political and ethical concerns. He keenly realised that vague and abstract language is the hotbed of ‘nonsense on stilts’ and a tool used by tyranny and ‘sinister interests’ to confuse the public and maintain privileges. Therefore, constructing a logically clear ‘universal grammar’ was not merely an academic pursuit but a political project aimed at empowering the people and promoting social transparency.
The publication of this work is a definitive event in the field of Bentham studies and even in the research of modern philosophy as a whole. The publication of this book not only restores an important philosophical work but also revives the true image of an intellectual giant who has long been misunderstood. Although Bentham was once misunderstood by his closest heir and obscured by the dust of history, today, with the advent of this important philosophical work, his original true face has finally been revealed to us. It eloquently proves that Bentham constructed a unified system of thought pivoted on language, penetrating ontology, logic, ethics, and politics. This is not only a revelation of history but also a powerful intervention in the contemporary intellectual world. For any scholar, policymaker, or thoughtful citizen concerned with the complex relationship between language, power, and human well-being, this work will serve as a useful handbook. It proves that Bentham’s philosophy not only ‘exists’ but is ‘still useful today’.
What is even more astonishing is that Bentham’s thought from over 200 years ago can provide guidance for the rapidly developing artificial intelligence of recent years, offering profound insights into the ethical dilemmas of AI. Take, for example, value alignment. The ‘greatest happiness of the greatest number’ principle is, in essence, a grand framework for value alignment. Regarding explainability, Bentham’s method of paraphrasis can be viewed as a methodology for ‘ethical explainability’. When a complex algorithm makes a decision with far-reaching consequences, Bentham’s thought would demand that the decision-making logic of the algorithm must be ‘paraphrased’ into a clear statement of the impact on the pains and pleasures of the relevant individuals. Regarding accountability, by grounding ethical judgements on observable and calculable consequences of pain and pleasure, Bentham’s theory provides a foundation for algorithmic accountability. It refuses to accept defences based on vague ‘rights’ or abstract ‘fairness’ principles, instead requiring decision-makers, whether human or machine, to be responsible for the specific, measurable increases or decreases in well-being caused by their actions.
Schofield’s rigorous and insightful editorial work has not only restored an important philosophical work but has also revived the true image of an intellectual giant who has been misunderstood for a long time. In 1932, C. K. Ogden focused on the future rather than indulging in the past, firmly believing that Bentham’s greatest triumph had yet to arrive. As we approach 2032 – the bicentenary of Bentham’s death – his philosophical legacy may finally be recognised not just as a historical curiosity, but as an enduringly relevant framework for tackling the complex ethical and political challenges of the modern world.
