Book cover for Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar

Publication date: 1 December 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781800089211

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar

Q: Who edited "Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar"?

"Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar" was edited by Philip Schofield. Philip Schofield is Director of the Bentham Project, Faculty of Laws, University College London, and General Editor of the new authoritative edition of The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham.

Philip Schofield (Editor)

Series: The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham

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This new volume of Bentham’s philosophical writings deals with his most fundamental ideas concerning logic, language, ethics, and grammar. It includes four major essays written between 1814 and 1816, namely ‘Essay on Logic’, ‘Essay on Ethics’, ‘Didacologia’, and ‘Universal Grammar’, all of them closely related to Chrestomathia, Bentham’s major work on education.

In ‘Essay on Logic’, Bentham contrasts the præcognita of Aristotle with his own ‘characteristics’ of logic and deals with methodization, ontology, and the relationship between logic and language. In ‘Essay on Ethics’, he offers a critique of the Aristotelian virtues and outlines his own division of ethics into prudence, probity, and benevolence. In ‘Didacologia’, he presents an outline of a comprehensive plan for the division of the arts and sciences based on the method of exhaustive bifurcation and a new nomenclature. In ‘Universal Grammar’, Bentham deals with language as the basis for thought and communication and investigates the nature of the different parts of speech. The volume is completed with an Appendix containing fragmentary material, written in August and September 1813, with a focus on language. All the texts are based on Bentham’s original manuscripts and have never before been published in authentic form.

Preface

Chapter 1. Logic, what

Chapter 2. Logic—its Characteristics—viz. 1. its End. 2. Field of Exercise. 3. Operations. 4. Faculties. 5. Instruments. 6. Functions. 7. Uses.

Chapter 3. III. Operations to the performance of which Logic is capable of affording direction and assistance

Chapter 4. IV. Faculties; V. Instrument; VI. Uses; VII. Functions

Chapter 5. Mental Operations and Faculties—Methodization—its Uses—Purposes and Subjects to which it is applicable. Advantageous effects producible by means of it

Chapter 6. Of Methodization, or arrangement

Chapter 7. Of Division

Chapter 8. Of Exposition by Paraphrasis with its subsidiary operations, viz. Phraseoplerosis and Archetypation

Chapter 9. Of Ontology: under which head are brought to view such objects as are designated by the most capacious and comprehensive appellations which the stock of Language affords

Chapter 10. Of Art in general—Operations performable in relation to it

Chapter 11. Of the art of Invention

Chapter 12. Of Discourse or Language in general—Operations which, in its character of an art, are performable in relation to it

Chapter 13. Of Improvement, considered as applicable to Language

Chapter 14. Of the Improvement of Language in respect of Copiousness

Chapter 15. Of Clearness in discourse—where the seat of the unclearness, actual or apprehended, is considered as being in the words taken singly:—and hence, of exposition

Chapter 16. Of the Qualities desirable in style: i.e. in language considered as employed by this or that individual

Chapter 17. Rules for the avoidance of the imperfections opposite to the qualities of Clearness (Non-Ambiguity and Non-Obscurity) and Impressiveness

Chapter 18. J.B.’s new ideas derived from Logic

APPENDIX

Chapter 1. Præcognita, or preliminary and general indications, concerning Logic, according to the Aristotelians

Chapter 2. Of Aristotle’s ten predicaments

Chapter 3. Of Aristotle’s Post-predicaments

Chapter 4. Modes of discussion—Aristotelian and Socratic

Chapter 5. Of discussion—disputation—argumentation—or debate: viz. of that branch of the Aristotelian logic which takes that operation for its subject

ESSAY ON ETHICS

Chapter 1. Of Well-being and Ill-being in general—Happiness and Unhappiness

Chapter 2. Sole and constant End of Action, or object of man’s pursuit, well-being

Chapter 3. Field of Ethics—its Divisions

Chapter 4. Virtue, what—Virtue self-regarding & extra-regarding—Prudence, its relation to self-regarding—Probity, Benevolence and Beneficence, their relation to Extra-regarding—Virtue and Vice unmeaning but for Pain & Pleasure

Chapter 5. Virtue—its modifications

Chapter 6. Of Beneficence and Benevolence

Chapter 7. Of Vanity and Pride

Chapter 8. Of Propriety, and its connection with Utility

Chapter 9. Of propriety, as between self-regarding or teleclectic Prudence on the one hand, and Probity and Beneficence taken together, on the other

Chapter 10. Aristotle’s Virtues—Virtues in general

Chapter 11. Fortitude

Chapter 12. Temperance

Chapter 13. Of Justice—its coincidence with probity

Chapter 14. Veracity—how reducible to prudence, probity and beneficence

Chapter 15. Of propriety, with reference to the pleasures and pains of amity

APPENDIX

Chapter 1. Modes of exercising the function of practical moralist

Chapter 2. Deontologist or Writing Moralist—proper and improper Modes of exercising this Function

Chapter 3. Of the causes of immorality

Chapter 4. Fictitious entities deriving their import from the pleasures and pains of the popular or moral sanction—their import—their pernicious influence

DIDACOLOGIA

Chapter 1. Art and Science Division

Chapter 2. Uses

APPENDIX

Generals or Particulars—Abstractions or Concretions which first

DOI: 10.14324/111.9781800089211

Publication date: 01 December 2025

PDF ISBN: 9781800089211

EPUB ISBN: 9781800089228

Hardback ISBN: 9781800089198

Paperback ISBN: 9781800089204

‘The publication of this work is a definitive event in the field of Bentham studies and even in the research of modern philosophy as a whole. The publication of this book not only restores an important philosophical work but also revives the true image of an intellectual giant who has long been misunderstood.’
Utilitas

‘Through the efforts of Philip Schofield, this volume has been published by UCL Press in open access, as exemplifies the principle of ‘the greatest happiness of the greatest number’—a development at which Bentham himself, I think, would surely smile. Schofield’s edition ultimately compels renewed attention to Bentham not merely as a utilitarian moralist, but as a systematic philosopher of ontology, language, and empiricist psychology.’
History of European Ideas

Frequently Asked Questions

What is "Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar" about?

This new volume of Bentham’s philosophical writings deals with his most fundamental ideas concerning logic, language, ethics, and grammar. It includes four major essays written between 1814 and 1816, namely ‘Essay on Logic’, ‘Essay on Ethics’, ‘Didacologia', and ‘Universal Grammar’, all of them closely related to Chrestomathia, Bentham’s major work on education.

In ‘Essay on Logic’, Bentham contrasts the præcognita of Aristotle with his own ‘characteristics’ of logic and deals with methodization, ontology, and the relationship between logic and language. In ‘Essay on Ethics’, he offers a critique of the Aristotelian virtues and outlines his own division of ethics into prudence, probity, and benevolence. In ‘Didacologia’, he presents an outline of a comprehensive plan for the division of the arts and sciences based on the method of exhaustive bifurcation and a new nomenclature. In ‘Universal Grammar’, Bentham deals with language as the basis for thought and communication and investigates the nature of the different parts of speech. The volume is completed with an Appendix containing fragmentary material, written in August and September 1813, with a focus on language. All the texts are based on Bentham’s original manuscripts and have never before been published in authentic form.

Who edited "Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar"?

"Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar" was edited by Philip Schofield.

Philip Schofield is Director of the Bentham Project, Faculty of Laws, University College London, and General Editor of the new authoritative edition of The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham.

Is "Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar" part of a series?

Yes, "Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar" is part of the "The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham" series.

The authoritative edition of the works and correspondence of Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) is being prepared by the Bentham Project, a research unit based in UCL’s Faculty of Laws. The series is one of the most prestigious and most ambitious ever undertaken in the Western philosophical tradition. In spite of Bentham’s importance as a jurist, philosopher, social scientist, and leader of the utilitarian reformers, the only previous edition of his works was a poorly-edited and incomplete one brought out within a decade or so of his death. The vast majority of Bentham’s papers are deposited in UCL Library, and, with that in mind, as well as Bentham’s role in the foundation of UCL, the decision was taken by the Provost and Council in the late 1950s to proceed with a new critical edition. The first volumes were published in 1968. UCL Press officially took over as publisher of new volumes in the Collected Works in 2020. The volumes are fully annotated, and contain an editorial introduction and detailed indexes.

Is "Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar" available Open Access?

Yes, "Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar" is published Open Access. It is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

What is the Table of Contents for "Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar"?

Preface

Chapter 1. Logic, what

Chapter 2. Logic—its Characteristics—viz. 1. its End. 2. Field of Exercise. 3. Operations. 4. Faculties. 5. Instruments. 6. Functions. 7. Uses.

Chapter 3. III. Operations to the performance of which Logic is capable of affording direction and assistance

Chapter 4. IV. Faculties; V. Instrument; VI. Uses; VII. Functions

Chapter 5. Mental Operations and Faculties—Methodization—its Uses—Purposes and Subjects to which it is applicable. Advantageous effects producible by means of it

Chapter 6. Of Methodization, or arrangement

Chapter 7. Of Division

Chapter 8. Of Exposition by Paraphrasis with its subsidiary operations, viz. Phraseoplerosis and Archetypation

Chapter 9. Of Ontology: under which head are brought to view such objects as are designated by the most capacious and comprehensive appellations which the stock of Language affords

Chapter 10. Of Art in general—Operations performable in relation to it

Chapter 11. Of the art of Invention

Chapter 12. Of Discourse or Language in general—Operations which, in its character of an art, are performable in relation to it

Chapter 13. Of Improvement, considered as applicable to Language

Chapter 14. Of the Improvement of Language in respect of Copiousness

Chapter 15. Of Clearness in discourse—where the seat of the unclearness, actual or apprehended, is considered as being in the words taken singly:—and hence, of exposition

Chapter 16. Of the Qualities desirable in style: i.e. in language considered as employed by this or that individual

Chapter 17. Rules for the avoidance of the imperfections opposite to the qualities of Clearness (Non-Ambiguity and Non-Obscurity) and Impressiveness

Chapter 18. J.B.’s new ideas derived from Logic

APPENDIX

Chapter 1. Præcognita, or preliminary and general indications, concerning Logic, according to the Aristotelians

Chapter 2. Of Aristotle’s ten predicaments

Chapter 3. Of Aristotle’s Post-predicaments

Chapter 4. Modes of discussion—Aristotelian and Socratic

Chapter 5. Of discussion—disputation—argumentation—or debate: viz. of that branch of the Aristotelian logic which takes that operation for its subject

ESSAY ON ETHICS

Chapter 1. Of Well-being and Ill-being in general—Happiness and Unhappiness

Chapter 2. Sole and constant End of Action, or object of man’s pursuit, well-being

Chapter 3. Field of Ethics—its Divisions

Chapter 4. Virtue, what—Virtue self-regarding & extra-regarding—Prudence, its relation to self-regarding—Probity, Benevolence and Beneficence, their relation to Extra-regarding—Virtue and Vice unmeaning but for Pain & Pleasure

Chapter 5. Virtue—its modifications

Chapter 6. Of Beneficence and Benevolence

Chapter 7. Of Vanity and Pride

Chapter 8. Of Propriety, and its connection with Utility

Chapter 9. Of propriety, as between self-regarding or teleclectic Prudence on the one hand, and Probity and Beneficence taken together, on the other

Chapter 10. Aristotle’s Virtues—Virtues in general

Chapter 11. Fortitude

Chapter 12. Temperance

Chapter 13. Of Justice—its coincidence with probity

Chapter 14. Veracity—how reducible to prudence, probity and beneficence

Chapter 15. Of propriety, with reference to the pleasures and pains of amity

APPENDIX

Chapter 1. Modes of exercising the function of practical moralist

Chapter 2. Deontologist or Writing Moralist—proper and improper Modes of exercising this Function

Chapter 3. Of the causes of immorality

Chapter 4. Fictitious entities deriving their import from the pleasures and pains of the popular or moral sanction—their import—their pernicious influence

DIDACOLOGIA

Chapter 1. Art and Science Division

Chapter 2. Uses

APPENDIX

Generals or Particulars—Abstractions or Concretions which first

What is the DOI for "Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar"?

The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for "Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar" is 10.14324/111.9781800089211.

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Essays on Logic, Ethics, and Universal Grammar

Series: The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham

Publication date: December 1, 2025

Open Access PDF ISBN: 9781800089211

Paperback ISBN: 9781800089204

Hardback ISBN: 9781800089198

Trim size (hardback): 23.4cm x 15.6cm

Trim size (paperback): 23.4cm x 15.6cm

Download free PDF online

https://uclpress.co.uk/book/essays-on-logic-ethics-and-universal-grammar/

This new volume of Bentham’s philosophical writings deals with his most fundamental ideas concerning logic, language, ethics, and grammar. It includes four major essays written between 1814 and 1816, namely ‘Essay on Logic’, ‘Essay on Ethics’, ‘Didacologia’, and ‘Universal Grammar’, all of them closely related to Chrestomathia, Bentham’s major work on education.

In ‘Essay on Logic’, Bentham contrasts the præcognita of Aristotle with his own ‘characteristics’ of logic and deals with methodization, ontology, and the relationship between logic and language. In ‘Essay on Ethics’, he offers a critique of the Aristotelian virtues and outlines his own division of ethics into prudence, probity, and benevolence. In ‘Didacologia’, he presents an outline of a comprehensive plan for the division of the arts and sciences based on the method of exhaustive bifurcation and a new nomenclature. In ‘Universal Grammar’, Bentham deals with language as the basis for thought and communication and investigates the nature of the different parts of speech. The volume is completed with an Appendix containing fragmentary material, written in August and September 1813, with a focus on language. All the texts are based on Bentham’s original manuscripts and have never before been published in authentic form.

‘The publication of this work is a definitive event in the field of Bentham studies and even in the research of modern philosophy as a whole. The publication of this book not only restores an important philosophical work but also revives the true image of an intellectual giant who has long been misunderstood.’
Utilitas

‘Through the efforts of Philip Schofield, this volume has been published by UCL Press in open access, as exemplifies the principle of ‘the greatest happiness of the greatest number’—a development at which Bentham himself, I think, would surely smile. Schofield’s edition ultimately compels renewed attention to Bentham not merely as a utilitarian moralist, but as a systematic philosopher of ontology, language, and empiricist psychology.’
History of European Ideas

Philip Schofield (Editor)

Philip Schofield is Director of the Bentham Project, Faculty of Laws, University College London, and General Editor of the new authoritative edition of The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham.