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In: Philosophy·Biographies·History - British
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #27597.
The work is a scholarly survey of the English Utilitarian school, written by Leslie Stephen as a follow‑up to his earlier History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century. In the opening pages Stephen explains that, rather than presenting a purely abstract exposition of Bentham’s doctrine, he will trace the movement through biography, political conditions, and social problems, treating philosophy as a lived, pragmatic force. The contents outline a systematic progression from the constitutional backdrop and class structure of Britain, through industrial and moral issues such as pauperism and the slave trade, to detailed chapters on Bentham’s life, his panopticon, and the development of his legal reforms. Stephen positions himself as a former disciple of the later Utilitarians, promising a narrative that intertwines the thinkers’ ideas with the concrete affairs of their age.
The prose reflects the late‑Victorian academic tone of the 1880s, combining exhaustive detail with a reflective, almost essayistic style. Stephen’s language is dense but clear, favoring long sentences that weave historical context with philosophical analysis. Readers who enjoy intellectual history that situates ideas within the fabric of politics, economics, and social change, particularly those interested in Bentham, the Mill family, and the broader currents of 18th‑ and 19th‑century British thought, will find this volume rewarding. It appeals to scholars, students of philosophy, and history enthusiasts who appreciate a methodical, biographical approach rather than a purely doctrinal treatise.
The opening · free to read
This book is a sequel to my History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century. The title which I then ventured to use was more comprehensive than the work itself deserved: I felt my inability to write a continuation which should at all correspond to a similar title for the nineteenth century. I thought, however, that by writing an account of the compact and energetic school of English Utilitarians I could throw some light both upon them and their contemporaries. I had the advantage for this purpose of having been myself a disciple of the school during its last period. Many accidents have delayed my completion of the task; and delayed also its publication after it was written. Two books have been published since that time, which partly cover the same ground; and I must be content with referring my readers to them for further information. They are The English Radicals, by Mr. C. B. Roylance Kent; and English Political Philosophy from Hobbes to Maine, by Professor Graham.
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