Printing of Bentham's Introduction to Principles of Morals and Legislation

Background. Jeremy Bentham was an English philosopher and legal theorist, and the first major philosopher to develop and defend a utilitarian theory of ethics. He held that happiness or pleasure is the only thing good for its own sake, a view he later influenced John Stuart Mill with.

The Work. An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation is where Bentham develops his theory of utilitarianism, described as the first major book on the topic and his most important theoretical work. In it he seeks to determine what a system of laws would look like if constructed on a purely utilitarian basis.

Printing and Publication. The book was originally printed in 1780 and first published in 1789. The 1780 printing in London therefore preceded its publication by nine years, a distinction the legacy record correctly preserves by describing the work as printed but not published.