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Jeremy Bentham born 15 February 1748 was an English philosopher, jurist and social reformer
He was a prolific writer but did not have most of his works published until after his death.
The Principles of Morals and Legislation was written in 1789.
Works published in Bentham's lifetime include:
Short Review of the Declaration (1776). An attack on the United States Declaration of Independence
A Fragment on Government (1776). This was an unsparing criticism of some introductory passages relating to political theory in William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England. The book, published anonymously, was well received and credited to some of the greatest minds of the time. Bentham disagreed with Blackstone's defence of judge-made law, his defence of legal fictions, his theological formulation of the doctrine of mixed government, his appeal to a social contract and his use of the vocabulary of natural law. Bentham's "Fragment" was only a small part of a Commentary on the Commentaries, which remained unpublished until the twentieth century.
An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (printed for publication 1780, published 1789).
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