Jeremy Bentham is widely accepted as the founder of modern utilitarianism, and his ideas continue to influence moral and political philosophy. While he was not the first to draw on the notion of utility (usefulness) and the principle of the greatest happiness, the manner in which he developed such philosophical ideas into a standard for moral action has ensured his continued prominence. Bentham's unambiguous identification of happiness as the fundamental element, the driving force, behind understandings of social, political, and economic questions has established him as the quintessential classical utilitarian thinker.

Long before the end of his remarkably productive life Bentham's many contributions, in terms both of analytic theory and of practical application, had made their presence felt across many areas of study, including philosophy, law, politics, political economy, social welfare, and public policy. Bentham's combination of critical rationality and clear empiricism, both of which he employed with...