History and Historiography in Classical Utilitarianism, 1800–1865

The first complete account of the utilitarians' historical thought, from which emerge new interpretations of their philosophy and politics.

Callum Barrell (Author)

9781316519073, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 October 2021

300 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2 cm, 0.55 kg

'Barrell unearths much thought-provoking material …' Gregory Conti, The Review of Politics

This first comprehensive account of the utilitarians' historical thought intellectually resituates their conceptions of philosophy and politics, at a time when the past acquired new significances as both a means and object of study. Drawing on published and unpublished writings - and set against the intellectual backdrops of Scottish philosophical history, German and French historicism, romanticism, positivism, and the rise of social science and scientific history - Callum Barrell recovers the depth with which Jeremy Bentham, James Mill, George Grote, and John Stuart Mill thought about history as a site of philosophy and politics. He argues that the utilitarians, contrary to their reputations as ahistorical and even antihistorical thinkers, developed complex frameworks in which to learn from and negotiate the past, inviting us to rethink the foundations of their ideas, as well as their place in - and relationship to - nineteenth-century philosophy and political thought.

Introduction
Part I. Enlightened Historicisms: 1. Jeremy Bentham on historical authority
2. James Mill and the real business of philosophy
Part II. Historicism and Historiography: 3. George Grote and Historismus
4. J. S. Mill's historical criticism
Part III. Sciences of History: 5. J. S. Mill and historical relativism
6. J. S. Mill on Universal History
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX], Western philosophy: c 1600 to c 1900 [HPCD], Historiography [HBAH]