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1821 Feb. 27
Jug Util & True
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Plan of the Work
Part.I. /Natural—/ Verity apart.
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Plan of a Work to be intituled
The Usefulness of Religion in the present life examined
Of the arrangement pursued a principal object is to elude the bar opposed by adverse possessions to the reception of the useful truths.
In this view the work is divided into eight parts: the eight is as yet only in contemplation; and is not very likely to be undertaken by the author of the others.
1. In Part the first. Natural Religion is considered, independently of supposed Revealed: and its Utility is considered without reference to its verity; or, as it may be said, its verity is, for the purpose of the argument tacitly admitted and assumed, in so far as verity can be attributed to it consistently with uselessness and mischievousness. The topic[?] from whence its inefficiency to useful purposes is inforced is the utter absence of any directive rule, in connection with those expectations of reward and punishment of which any sanctionative force that can be attributed to it must be composed. The topics[?] from whence its efficiency to pernicious purpose are inferred are the magnitude which must be attributed the expected punishments to make up for that deficiency in the article of propinquity, and that deficiency in the article of certainty or rather probability, which are the necessary result of the utter absence of all direct experience: of all evidence, presented to any man who thinks of them, by explanation: by any experience of his own, or by the reported experience of any other man of whose trustworthiness he is capable of obtaining satisfactory assurance by interrogation or otherwise.
Of alledged Revealed Religion no mention is as yet made. To its votaries is thus spared the shock of feeling the object of their attachment struck at in the first instance by arguments by which if prevalent, their belief in it must be destroyed without recourse: the hope is even left to them that thereby their supposed Revealed Religion, so far from being shaken, will be /stand/ confirmed: confirmed by the proof given of the utter inefficiency of Natural Religion, as well for the want of evidence of the existence of a future state of rewards and punishments as for the want of all directive rule: deficience for both of which it has been the business of Revealed Religion to provide a supply.
The attack thus made on Natural Religion, is no other than that which in this way has been made by several of the Advocates of Revealed Religion, it being in their eyes subservient at least if not indispensably necessary to their cause.
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Title: [1821 Oct. 14 Jug Util 3]Description: 1821 Oct. 14 Jug Util 3 Plan of Procedure 3 Useful a system of Religion can not be, except in virtue of a directive rule, or a sanction, or both: a directive rule for the direction of conduct, or a sanction to furnish inducement for the observance of a directive rule. To be incapable of furnishing either the one or the other will be shewn to be the effectual property of Natural Religion considered apart from Revealed. On this occasion it is that the question of verity will be seen not to be capable of compleat separation from the question of usefulness: since from non-apparency of verity even actual verity supposed would come non-usefulness. For effecting the separation, which the question of usefulness is on the carpet, the non-apparency of Verity may be provisionally assumed: thereupon under a separate subject of the non-apparency may be treated of, viz. by indication given of the causes. On the occasion of the non-usefulness of Natural Religion the natural debility of the superhuman Sanction will be brought to view and contrasted with the natural efficiency of the six human sanctions: all of which operate already in a preponderate degree, in favour of human happiness, and as morality and sound judgment improve will do so with more compleat accordance. On this occasion it may perhaps be found neither /[...?]/ practicable, nor advantageous, in bringing to view the debility of the superhuman sanction, to omitt the number of the instances in which its utter impotence will be brought to view in the cases where Natural Religion has the support of supposed Revealed, and supposed Revealed the support of Establishments. For it is in the present state of things in this country that its impotence thence its non-usefulness will be to be brought to view, and in this country at the present time it can not be seen except in a state of connection with supposed Revealed Religion, and the Establishments kept on foot for the support of it.
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Title: [1821 March 12 Jug Util. 2]Description: 1821 March 12 Jug Util. 2 Plan of the Work (1) Postpone? Among those in whose eyes there is no truth in religion either alledged revealed or natural, the number is very considerable of those in whose eyes it is either effectively necessary to the being of society or at any rate more or less useful. To those all discussion relative to its verity would appear superfluous, useless and unnecessary. Of all the questions relative to this subject to those it will naturally be no small satisfaction to find held before them in the first instance the only one in which having taken any interest and that in a state so compleatly separate as to render it needless for them to encumber themselves with any thing that follows or may hereafter follow. In the whole design eight topics, constituting so many distinguishable and distinguished Parts of the entire work commensurate to the entire design, are comprehended. Of those it is proposed to comprize in the first publication no more than the two first: say Parts I and II. Of these two Parts Natural Religion considered apart from alledged Revealed is the subject. Marginal note parallel to the preceding paragraph: ‘Proposed title of these two Parts taken together is The Usefulness of Natural Religion in the present life examined. Proposed Title of Part I On the usefulness of Natural Religion, Verity not considered. Proposed Title of Part II On the usefulness of Natural Religion, apparent Verity considered.’ In the second publication may be comprized Parts III. IV. V. Of these three Parts alledged Revealed Religion and the Religion of Jesus in particular is the subject. Proposed title of the entire publication The usefulness of Revealed Religion in the present life examined. Proposed title of Part I (Part III of the whole) On the Usefulness of Revealed Religion at large, apparent verity considered. Proposed Title of Part II. (Part IV of the whole) On the usefulness of the Religion of Jesus, its apparent Verity considered in a general point of view. Proposed Title of Part III (Part V of the whole) On the usefulness of the Religion of Jesus, Verity apart or not considered. In this second or in a separate publication may be comprized Part VI having for its subject the Religion of Jesus considered under the form given to it by Political Establishments. It will be for consideration whether it might not be advisable upon the whole that this Part should not only constitute a separate publication, but as to order and even time of publication take place of Parts III, IV and V, and even of Part III. The use and reason for such precedence and separateness is the keeping as clear as may be of [the] wording to shock the prepossession of those in whose eyes their Religion has its use and value independently of all such Establishments. By this means in case of success, one half of the twofold design /might in these minds/ would be accomplished: namely the withdrawing their support from Religion in the character of an instrument of [...?] and without the risk of shocking them beyond reconciliation by a shock given to them the strongest of their adverse prepossessions.
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Title: [1821 March 2. Jug Util & True]Description: 1821 March 2. Jug Util & True B 7 Plan of the Work Part II. Natural Verity considered 7 II. In Part the second, the question of Verity, —apparent Verity—is brought upon the carpet: apparent verity, that is to say of the future existence of the same man after death in a state susceptible of reward and punishment for conduct maintained in the course of his life: apparent verity, to wit in the eyes of all those, with relation to whose interest it can possess any degree of usefulness: apparent in contradistinction to real. By means of this distinction, the advocates of Revealed Religion are left at liberty, under all that deficiency in the article of apparent Verity, to ascribe to the retributory state in question real verity: receiving to themselves the satisfaction of seeing a sufficient proof of such verity in that Revelation which as yet remains unquestioned. On the part of Natural Religion the absence of apparent verity is deduced /shewn to result/ from the absence of all evidence, Revelation apart in favour of two indispensable conditions: 1. on the part of those human beings, whose existence in the present state is made known by experience, the capacity of existing without prejudice to their identity: in a state of which the least imaginable difference from their own would be sufficient to render each future man more different from his present self than in his present state any man is from any other. 2. in this other part the existence of a supernatural being, indeed at one with the power and the will to place them in such retributory state, in the description of which a self-contradictory supposition is, as above, involved. After this demonstration the advocate of Revealed Religion is still left at liberty to retain his persuasion of the existence of these same indispensable conditions: the evidence by which this existence is regarded by him as sufficiently proved, remaining as yet unimpeached.
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