The essays in this volume offer a reassessment of Jeremy Bentham's
strikingly original legal philosophy. Early on, Bentham discovered his
'genius for legislation' - 'legislation' included not only lawmaking
and code writing, but also political and social institution building
and engineering of public spaces for effective control of the exercise
of political power. In his general philosophical work, Bentham sought
to articulate a public philosophy to guide and direct all of his
'legislative' efforts. Part I explores the philosophical foundations
of his public philosophy: his theory of meaning and framework for
analysis and definition of key concepts, his theory of human
affections and motivations, and his utilitarian theory of value. It is
argued that, while concepts of pleasure and happiness play nominal
roles in his theory of value, concepts of publicity, equality, and
interests emerge as the dominant concepts of his public philosophy.
Part II explores several dimensions of Bentham's jurisprudence,
including his radically revised command model of law, his early
reflections on justice and law in adjudication, his theories of
judicial evidence, constitutional rights, the rule of law, and
international law. The concluding essay demonstrates the centrality of
the notion of publicity in his moral, legal and political thought.
Emerging from this study is a positivist legal theory and a
utilitarian moral-political philosophy that challenge in fundamental
ways contemporary understandings of those doctrines.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780192511591
Publisert
2020
Utgiver
Vendor
OUP Oxford
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter