ABSTRACT
[Although this is the most famous of Mill's essays on Bentham it is not the only one. Mill's first writing on Bentham was his obituary notice in The Examiner,10th June, 1832. In 1833 at the request of Edward Lytton Bulwer, later 1st Baron Lytton, he wrote a critical account of Bentham's philosophy which was printed as Appendix B in Lytton's England and the English,London, Bentley, 1833. In August 1838 Mill published an essay on Bentham in London and Westminster Review. It was signed ‘A’ and was a review of Bowring's edition of Bentham's works. This number of the Review went into second edition, but Mill made no changes except to add a footnote at the end. Later in the year Mill's essay appeared as an offprint, entitled An Estimate of Bentham's Philosophy. It was still signed ‘A’, and apart from removing the running titles Mill made no other changes. When, however, he later included it in his Dissertations and Discussions vol. I, he revised it at several places. It is this final version that I have used here, indicating at appropriate places many of Mill's important revisions. Mill's last systematic discussion of Bentham was in his ‘Dr. Whewell on Moral Philosophy’, published in Westminster Review,October, 1852, and reprinted without substantial changes in his Dissertations and Discussions,vol. II. This is a shrewd and skilful essay in that having himself criticized Bentham a few years earlier, he is now required to defend him against Whewell's similar criticisms. For further comments see the editorial note onp. 41—Editor.]
