ABSTRACT
Jeremy Bentham summed up the utility of clear and conclusive definitions in early manuscript fragment: 'The words defined are all so many given quantities and possessing them, the Jurist finds himself rich in means for the solution of any problem in his science'. In the early 1770s Bentham set out to sharpen his own analytical tools by radically reconstructing the meanings of those fundamental words on whose definitions the value and validity of his scientific endeavours was to hinge. This chapter examines Bentham's 'Metaphysics' from the perspective afforded by his analysis of the idea of liberty. Bentham proposed to ground his doctrine on matters of fact by making words and matters of fact always interchangeable, that is, by constructing a vocabulary reducible to simple ideas. The threat posed to personal and political liberty by the political sanction is recognized when Bentham observes that, should the political overpower the moral, 'the nation would groan under the most cruel tyranny'.
