pdf | 15.92 MB | English | Anthony Julius, Malcolm Quinn and Philip Schofield | 2020 | UCL Press; 1 edition | Page: 313

Book Description :

Bentham and the Arts considers the
sceptical challenge presented by Bentham's hedonistic utilitarianism
to the existence of the aesthetic, as represented in the oft-quoted statement
that, 'Prejudice apart, the game of push-pin is of equal value with the arts
and sciences of music and poetry. If the game of push-pin furnish more
pleasure, it is more valuable than either.' This statement
is one part of a complex set of arguments on culture, taste, and utility that
Bentham pursued over his lifetime, in which sensations of pleasure and pain
were opposed to aesthetic sensibility. Leading scholars from a variety of
disciplines reflect on the implications of Bentham's radical utilitarian
approach for our understanding of the history and contemporary nature of art,
literature, and aesthetics more generally.

Each contributor takes into account,
from the perspective of their own discipline and expertise, the implications
for their research area of the vie contained in Bentham's Of Sexual Irregularities, and other
writings on Sexual Morality (published in the authoritative edition of The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham
in 2014) and 'Not Paul, but Jesus: Volume III' (published online by the
Bentham Project in 2014). In these essays, Bentham puts forward the first
philosophical defence of sexual liberty. In doing so, he questions the
meaning of 'taste' and hence the received understanding of aesthetics more
generally.

The contributors, moreover, challenge
two of the major commonplaces in literary and historical studies of the
nineteenth century: first that literature and utilitarianism represented
alternative and incompatible vie of the world; and second that Bentham's
utilitarianism was somehow emaciated in comparison with that of John Stuart
Mill. The volume also includes new reflections on the auto-icon and the panopticon,
the latter showing the utilitarian genealogy of a
collaborative art and architecture project on the site of the Millbank
Penitentiary.

The title 'Bentham and the Arts' itself
challenges the commonly held notion that Bentham had nothing relevant to say
on the subject of the Arts - the essays in this volume show that Bentham
remains extraordinarily relevant, both in historical and philosophical terms.

' Bentham and the Arts is a feast. Ranging from poetry and sexual nonconformity to the auto-icon and public sculpture, from Hume, Kant, and de Staël to Freud and Michel Onfray, an excellent crew of contributors brings Jeremy Bentham out from the shadow cast by John Stuart Mill with much new to say on taste and politics. Highly recommended for students and scholars alike, this fine interdisciplinary volume is available to all through open-access publishing.' - Stephen Engelmann, University of Illinois at Chicago