登陆注册
5589700000104

第104章 BENTHAM'S DOCTRINE(26)

Briefly,I should say,that there is hardy an argument in Bentham's voluminous writings which is not to the purpose so far as it goes.Given his point of view,he is invariably cogent and relevant.And,moreover,that is a point of view which has to be taken.No ethical or political doctrine can,as I hold,be satisfactory which does not find a place for Bentham,though he was far,indeed,from giving a complete theory of his subject.And the main reason of this is that which I have already indicated.Bentham's whole life was spent in the attempt to create a science of legislation.Even where he is most tiresome,there is a certain interest in his unflagging working out of every argument,and its application to all conceivable cases.It is all genuine reasoning;and throughout it is dominated by a respect for good solid facts.His hatred of 'vague generalities'(124)means that he will be content with no formula which cannot be interpreted in terms of definite facts.The resolution to insist upon this should really be characteristic of every writer upon similar subjects,and no one ever surpassed Bentham in attention to it.Classify and reclassify,to make sure that at every point your classes correspond to realities.In the effort to carry out these principles,Bentham at least brought innumerable questions to a sound test,and exploded many pestilent fallacies.If he did not succeed further,if whole spheres of thought remained outside of his vision,it was because in his day there was not only no science of 'sociology'or psychology --there are no such sciences now --but no adequate perception of the vast variety of investigation which would be necessary to lay a basis for them.But the effort to frame a science is itself valuable,indeed of surpassing value,so far as it is combined with a genuine respect for facts.It is common enough to attempt to create a science by inventing technical terminology.Bentham tried the far wider and far more fruitful method of a minute investigation of particular facts.

His work,therefore,will stand,however different some of the results may appear when fitted into a different framework.And,therefore,however crudely and imperfectly,Bentham did,as I believe,help to turn speculation into a true and profitable channel.Of that,more will appear hereafter;but,if any one doubts Bentham's services,I will only suggest to him to compare Bentham with any of his British contemporaries,and to ask where he can find anything at all comparable to his resolute attempt to bring light and order into a chaotic infusion of compromise and prejudice.

NOTES:

1.See note under Bentham's Life,(note 20,previous chapter).

2.Preface to Morals and Legislation.

3.Works,i,('Morals and Legislation'),ii,n.

4.Essay,bk,ii,ch.xxi,section 39-section 44.The will,says Locke,is determined by the 'uneasiness of desire'.What moves desire?Happiness,and that alone.Happiness is pleasure,and misery pain.What produces pleasure we call good;and what produces paine we call evil.Locke,however,was not a consistent Utiliarian.

5.Epistle,iv,opening lines.

6.Works,viii,82.

7.Works ('Constitutional Code'),ix,123.

8.Works,('Fragment'),i,287.

9.Works,('Morals and Legislation'),i,6-10.Mill quotes this passage in his essay on Bentham in the first volume of his Dissertations.This essay,excellent in itself,must be specially noticed as an exposition by an authoritarian disciple.

10.Works ('Morals and Legislation'),i,13.

11.Works ('Morals and Legislation')i,v.

12.Works ('Evidence'),vi,261.

13.Works ('Evidence'),vii.116.

14.Ibid.('Morals and Legislation')i,14,etc;Ibid.vi,260.In Ibid.

('Evidence')vii,116'humanity,and in 'Logical Arrangement',Ibid.ii,290,'sympathy'appears as a fifth sanction.Another modification is suggested in Ibid.i,14n.

15.Ibid.('Morals and Legislation')i,67.

16.Works ('Morals and Legislation')i,96n.

17.See especially Ibid.viii,104,etc.253,etc.289,etc.

18.Ibid,viii,106.

19.'Codify'was one of Betham's successful neologisms.

20.Works ('Logic'),viii,220.

21.Here Bentham coincides with Horne Tooke,to whose 'discoveries'he refers in the Chrestomathia (Works,viii,120,185,188).

22.Works,iii,286,viii,119.

23.Ibid.('Ontology')viii,196n.

24.Ibid.viii,197n.

25.Ibid.viii,263.

26.Works ('Ontology'),viii,119.

27.Ibid.viii,198.

28.Ibid.viii,199.

29.Ibid.viii,206,247.

30.Helvétius adds to this that the only real pains and pleasures are the physical,but Bentham does not follow him here.See Helvétius OEuvres (1781),ii,121,etc.

31.Works,i,211('Springs of Action').

32.Ibid.i 206.

33.Works,i,205;and Dumont's Traités (1820),i,xxv,xxvi.The word 'springs of action'perhaps come from the marginal note to the above-mentioned passage of Locke (bk.ii,chap.xxvi,section 41,42).

34.Morals and Legislation,chaps.iv,v,vi.

35.See 'Codification Proposal'(Works,iv,540),where Bentham takes money as representing pleasure,and shows how the present value may be calculated like that of a sum put out to interest.The same assumption is often made by Political Economists in regard to 'utilities'.

36.Works ('Morals and Legislation'),i,17n.

同类推荐
  • 十地经论

    十地经论

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • History of Friedrich II of Prussia

    History of Friedrich II of Prussia

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 韩忠献公遗事

    韩忠献公遗事

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • A Little Book of Eternal Wisdom

    A Little Book of Eternal Wisdom

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 金正希先生文集

    金正希先生文集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 玄灵罚世

    玄灵罚世

    异世强者独孤傲天因偶得一柄魔剑,被一个绝世强者的后裔设计;
  • 一不小心把地球弄炸了怎么办

    一不小心把地球弄炸了怎么办

    少年林北昆仑山之行,意外掉落山洞,得宝《虚空炼体决》,只有修行《虚空炼体决》到第三步,才能打破山洞,返回人类社会。然,这一修炼,就是三万年,三万年后,《虚空炼体决》已到9999步。林北:地球被我不小心打爆了,怎么办,在线等,急……这是一部轻松向的无敌文……新书:《开局干掉勇者的我被迫成为魔王》。
  • 逆女嫡妃:腹黑世子请自重

    逆女嫡妃:腹黑世子请自重

    别人重生之后,都能过得安安稳稳,为什么只有她,总被人看穿鬼魂的本质?别人重活一回,人缘个顶个的好,为什么她重生之后,倒是更姥姥不疼舅舅不爱了?她本来没什么志气,就指望着报复渣男庶妹,为什么忽然就和皇家那群危险生物扯上了关系?除了嫡女的身份,她一无所有。且看嫡女在逆境之中不断奋进。
  • 告诉你一个爱迪生的故事

    告诉你一个爱迪生的故事

    本书从爱迪生儿时的生活写起,一直追溯到他所创造出来的伟大发明及所取得的辉煌成就,再现了爱迪生具有传奇色彩的一生,旨在让广大青少年朋友了解这位发明大王不平凡的人生经历,学习他那种对理想坚持不懈、对困难百折不挠的坚毅精神。
  • 柏拉图的永恒缘来是你

    柏拉图的永恒缘来是你

    人可一个曾经红遍两岸三地的知名艺人,在自己的演绎事业走入低谷,感情千疮百孔的失落中,选择了逃离,带着对自由的向往,来到了他飞镖射中的内地的一个小山村——桑树堰,在这样一个风景如画,静僻闲凉的地方,化名希瑞遇到了同样来这里的可爱姑娘——彤彤,在相处的过程里逐渐被这个并不漂亮但积极乐观真实的女孩吸引,她被彤彤快乐兰花般的热情感动着,享受着这里简单的快乐。当彤彤知道了人可的事情后,终于没有勇气跨向那个她不敢触及的世界,两人都回到了各自的生活,在人可精致的生活中,他越来越想念那个如兰花般的姑娘。他们真的就没机会见面了吗?他们的人生还会有什么样的交集呢?敬请期待
  • 面条西施发家记

    面条西施发家记

    现代小白领常相逢摇曳多姿的跃入泳池;古代洛阳女常巧丫被人从河里提溜出来。破院儿一个,烂屋两间,还有个随时要卖了她的后爹!万幸:咱有爆脾气,咱有好厨艺,日子过好不是什么大问题。凭着家传的厨艺在古代打出自己的一片江山,也打出了胭脂虎的恶名。当与阳光少年白首盟成时,却被强势县主横刀夺爱。能抢的去的男人本姑娘不稀罕。一直在站在本姑娘身后的那只狐狸精,你要娶我?不怕我吃了你?【情节虚构,请勿模仿】
  • 火影忍者之不一样的漩涡鸣人

    火影忍者之不一样的漩涡鸣人

    一个不一样的鸣人,一个不一样的结局,一个不一样的剧情。
  • 楼兰新娘

    楼兰新娘

    穿越千年的时空,追寻千年的遗梦,饱含胭脂的泪水,记录了楼兰多少尘封的往事。如烟的历史,漂泊的湖水,黄沙下掩埋的古老传说,这一切都在‘紫荆日月坠’的安排下一一开启。在一次罗布泊的考古中,我离奇的穿越千年,在大漠中历经了刻骨的爱恋。温柔如春日阳光的李恂,肩负家国使命风流潇洒的慕容羽,默默守侯在我身旁的楼兰王子莫桑,驰骋沙场狂傲自负的周楠,谁才是我前世的最爱,历史在战火硝烟中继续,而我的爱却掩埋在了大漠浩瀚的黄沙中,爱恨难了的往事,带着诀别的誓言在战火硝烟中我回到了千年后的楼兰,我带着相约罗布泊的约定寻找着千年前的爱人,可是我的梦中人究竟是否千年后还在原地等我相遇?月月新建了一个读者交流群,喜欢月月小说的亲们可以加,密码就是月的任意一小说书名和书中任意一人物的名字.群号:62092568各位大大本书的灵感是来自于前段时间我看过的中央台<探索发现>中的一期考古节目<风棺迷情>和席慕容女士的诗歌<漂泊的湖><楼兰新娘>.希望大家多多支持!同时也感谢大大们对我第一部作品<红笺记>长期以来的支持!现在<红笺记>已接近尾声,更新会慢一些,还望大大们谅解!我新作的《楼兰新娘》的视频,亲亲们如果感兴趣可以去看一下:视频地址:梧桐夜月的博客http://m.wkkk.net梧桐夜月新浪的博客http://m.wkkk.net/wutongyeyue我老师著名中文教授张老的博客,喜欢古典文学的朋友可以去看看http://m.wkkk.net/zqcd168各位亲亲从今天开始<胭脂泪.楼兰遗梦>正式改名为<楼兰新娘>推荐好友作品:丁丁的<惑世红颜之蝶舞>冰隐的<后妃天下>我亲家潘家大小姐的<后宫复仇-王朝邪爱>
  • 时光深处(全集)

    时光深处(全集)

    21岁的韩陌贫穷、骄傲、凉薄、优秀,骨子里有着对命运的不服。那时,江湖传言:T大的韩陌,不论男女,人皆爱之。那时,江湖还有一条传言:S大的苏小冉追男神韩陌追得痴狂。因此,当苏小冉成功追到男神后,T大与S大轰动了!一晃眼,八年过去——他跻身商业新贵,成了高高在上的神祗,而她只能朝拜。她说:“韩陌,如果有一天,你不再爱我了,一定要告诉我。”后来,他果然不爱她了。而她,在那天对自己发誓,她一定要成为钻石一样的女人,让他后悔,让所有人仰视。
  • 苏联飞虎队:苏联空军志愿队援华抗日纪实

    苏联飞虎队:苏联空军志愿队援华抗日纪实

    1937年到1941年,苏联共派遣3665人参加中国抗战,包括空军志愿队2000多名飞行员。志愿队出现在几乎所有正面战场,击落日军飞机986架、战舰100多艘,包括一艘航空母舰和一艘巡洋舰。谨以此书,纪念中华民族与苏联空军志愿队为赢得反侵略战争所做出的历史贡献!