History and Historiography in Classical Utilitarianism, 1800–1865

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 Drawing on published and unpublished writings - and set against the intellectual backdrops of Scottish philosophical history, German and French historicism, romanticism, positivism, and the rise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.

• Situates utilitarian ideas in their historical and intellectual contexts, without the baggage of later (especially twentieth-century) developments
• Challenges long-established interpretations of their thought, with consequences for contemporary utilitarianism, political theory, and ethics
• Draws on original archival research and unpublished material to enrich readers' understanding and provide access to otherwise rare or unseen sources