JB_160_075.xml

Title: [1821. May. 10. Codification Offer]

Description: 1821. May. 10.

Codification Offer.

Omitt this

Quere - whether this shall be inserted? Answer No: 10 Nov 1821

Note (a) continued

(a) Names are either names of the real entities concerned, or the

names of the fictitious entities concerned: real entities concerned are, subjects of

possession and action, agents and instruments. Subjects of possession are either

immoveable, or moveable: moveable subjects are either non-vehicular, or vehicular,

i.e vehicles: vehicles are by land, water, or air. Immoveables subjects (portions of

the earth's surface) are valuable either for their unincreasing matter, or for their

increasing produce. Agents are inanimate, or animate: animate are either rational or

irrational. Rational agents are considered either in respect of such of their acts by

which happiness is increased, or in respect of such of their acts, by which happiness

is diminished. These latter are misdeeds, and, in so far as they are objects of

prohibition - of prohibition emaning from agents in a particular situation - are

offences. A rational agent in so far as he addresses to another in whom it is in his

power to produce diminution of happiness, an expression of will intimating a desire

that by the agent so addressed, action in a determinate shape signified shall be

performed, issues thereby a command: if the desire is that

it be not performed but abstained from, a prohibition: in

either case he creates an obligation: an obligation positive, to perform the action, an obligation negative, to abstain from it. Revoking the command or the

prohibition he cancels the obligation: revoking the command, he substitutes to it permission not to

perform the action: revoking the prohibition he substitutes to it, permission to

perform the action. Prohibiting all persons but one from making use of a certain

article, moveable or immoveable, permitting at the same time that individual to make

use of it, he confers on that individual a right to it.

Commanding one individual to perform certain acts of a nature beneficial to a certain

other individual, he confers on the second individual a right to certain

correspondent services, to be rendered by the first.

125_266.xml

Title: [12 Jan y 1817 Necessity Cat.]

Description: 12 Jan y 1817

Necessity Cat.

1. Theory

§ 3. Forms of Government

4

Q. 7. M r Bentham in his work on legislation civil and penal published from his papers by M r Dumont speaks of a branch of political power by the name of power of classification and aggregation? What say you to this power? what relation does it bear to the branches of power in relation to which we have just been settling our conceptions?

A. The indication given of it was a necessary one. Take {up} for consideration the power of command: if in the suppose it /suppose the party to whom it is/ addressed to an individual agent only, or to any number of individual agents by their individual names, thereupon when the /in each instance designation is made of the/ agent, and of the individual act which it is desired he should perform or forbear performing, the expression given to the command is by the ruler in question compleated at the time. But if for the designation either of the agent or of the act, the name of a species be /is/ employed, the expression given to the command is not thus compleated at the time. Here then in so far as the either the faculty of giving a description of the species in the lump, or the faculty of determining from time to time what individuals shall be considered as belonging to that species is considered as belonging /appertaining/ to any person, that person possesses in relation to the subject matter in question a power of classification: he possesses thereby a share in the imperative power: and, without the other, either of these powers is not entire /integral/ but fractional only.

JB_101_341.xml

Title: [7 Aug. 1814 Logic Ch. │ │ Methodization]

Description: 7 Aug. 1814

Logic

Ch. │ │ Methodization

'. │ │ Subjects of denomination

Entities 1. real. 2. fabulous. 3. fictitious.

2

3

Names 1. Simple. 2. Compound.

If of this operation (viz. methodization by denomination) things were the only subjects, after names of persons, names there would be none, other than names of things. But of names that are not names of things, there are abundantly more than of names that are.

By things, are here meant, bodies: inanimate masses of corporeal, substance.

By this denomination we are led to the distinction - the comprehensive and instructive distinction - between real entities and fictitious entities: or rather between their respective names. Names of real entities are masses of proper names, names of so many individual masses of matter: of common names, names respectively of all such individual masses of matter as are of such or such a particular description, which by these names are indicated or endeavoured to be indicated.

Words - viz. words employed to serve as names - being the only instruments by which in the absence of the things, viz. the substances themselves, the ideas of them can be presented to the mind, hence, wheresoever a word is seen which to appearance is employed in the character of a name, a natural and abundantly extensive consequence is - a disposition and propensity to suppose the existence, the real existence, of a correspondent object - of a correspondent thing - of the thing of which it is the name, of a thing to which it ministers in the character of a name.

Yielded to without a sufficiently attentive caution, this disposition is a frequent source of confusion: of temporary confusion and perplexity: and not only so, but even[?] of permanent & persisting error.

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