An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation is a book by the English philosopher and legal theorist Jeremy Bentham "originally printed in 1780, and first published in 1789." Bentham's "most important theoretical work," it is where Bentham develops his theory of utilitarianism and is the first major book on the topic. Bentham was the first major philosopher to develop and defend a utilitarian theory of ethics. Like John Stuart Mill, whom he greatly influenced, Bentham believed that happiness or pleasure is the only thing that is good for its
Legal positivism it attempts to interpret the nature of reality beyond the physical and experiential. Thomas Hobbes and "Leviathan" Thomas Hobbes, in his seminal work "Leviathan", postulated the first clear notion of law based on the notion of sovereign power. As Hampton writes, "law is understood [by Hobbes] to depend on the sovereign's will. No matter what a law's content, no matter how unjust it seems, if it has been commanded by the sovereign, then and only then is it law.' There is, however, debate surrounding Hobbes's status as a legal positivist. Jeremy Bentham The English jurist and philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, is