Talking Politics: HISTORY OF IDEAS

Bentham on Pleasure

Jeremy Bentham’s Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation is a definitive early statement of the basis of utilitarianism: how do we achieve the greatest happiness of the greatest number? David looks at Bentham’s rationale for this approach and the many criticisms it has faced. Bentham has often been accused of reducing politics to mechanical calculation and missing what really matters. But given the time in which he was writing, wasn’t the prioritisation of pleasure the most radical idea of all? <a href="https://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/bentham1780.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Free online version of text</a><a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/books/utilitarianism-and-other-essays/9780140432725" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Recommended version to purchase</a> Going deeper… <a href="https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1322989/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Philip Lucas and Anne Sheeran, ‘Asperger’s Syndrome and the Eccentricity and Genius of Jeremy Bentham’ (2006)</a><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/discipline-and-punish/michel-foucault/9780241386019" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish (1975) </a><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/23/panopticon-digital-surveillance-jeremy-bentham#:~:text=The%20basic%20setup%20of%20Bentham's,central%20tower%20surrounded%20by%20cells.&amp;text=The%20tower%20shines%20bright%20light,they%20are%20always%20under%20observation." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Thomas McMullan, ‘What does the panopticon mean in the age of digital surveillance?’, The Guardian (2015)</a><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05xhwqf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">(Audio) In Our Time, Utilitarianism</a> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

A new series of talks by David Runciman, in which he explores some of the most important thinkers and prominent ideas lying behind modern politics – from Hobbes to Gandhi, from democracy to patriarchy, from revolution to lock down. Plus, he talks about the crises – revolutions, wars, depressions, pandemics – that generated these new ways of political thinking. From the team that brought you Talking Politics: a history of ideas to help make sense of what’s happening today. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.