Benthams An Introduction To The Principles Of Morals And Legislation

In the Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789), Bentham strove to cut a new road through the wilds of jurisprudence. Laws should be socially useful and not merely reflect the status quo; and, that while he believed that human beings inevitably pursue pleasure and avoid pain, Bentham thought it to be a sacred truth that the greatest happiness of the greatest number is the foundation of morals and legislation.