An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation

Jeremy Bentham''s An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation lays out the utilitarian case for judging actions by the happiness and harm they produce. Bentham examines morality, punishment, law, and policy with a practical eye toward consequences rather than tradition or sentiment.

Readers interested in philosophy, ethics, law, and political reform will find this book foundational. An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation is especially useful for understanding the roots of utilitarian thought and later debates about social improvement. It remains important because it asks readers to measure ideas by their effects on real lives. It remains important because it asks readers to measure ideas by their effects on real lives and social institutions in practice.