The Pursuit of Certainty

Title Page, Copyright

The Pursuit of Certainty The Pursuit of Certainty David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Beatrice Webb Shirley Robin Letwin Liberty Fund INDIANAPOLIS This book is published by Liberty Fund, Inc., a foundation established to encourage study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. The cuneiform inscription that serves as our logo and as the design motif for our endpapers is the earliest-known written appearance of the word "freedom" (arnagi), or "liberty." It is taken from a clay document written about 2300 B.c. in the Sumerian city-state of Lagash.© 1998 by Liberty Fund, Inc. All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Originally published in 1965 by Cambridge University Press Frontispiece photo courtesy of William Letwin All other photographs courtesy of Corbis-Bettmann Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Letwin, Shirley Robin. The pursuit of certainty : David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Beatrice Webb I Shirley Robin Letwin. p. em. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-86597-194-3.-ISBN 0-86597-195-1 (pbk.) I. Political science-Great Britain-History. 2. Hume, David, I7II-I776Contributions in political science. 3. Bentham, Jeremy, I748-1832-Contributions in political science. 4· Mill, John Stuart, 18o6-I873-Contributions in political science. 5. Webb, Beatrice Potter, I858-1943-Contributions in political science. I. Title. JA84.G7L44 1998 320'.092'241-dc21 97-47485 79IICIO 642 2 4 6 IO P 9 7 3 Liberty Fund, Inc. 8335 Allison Pointe Trail, Suite 300 Indianapolis, IN 46250-1684 ...