Samuel Bailey

Infobox_Philosopher
region = Western Philosophy
era = 19th-century philosophy
color = #B0C4DE


image_caption =
name = Samuel Bailey
birth = birth date|1791|7|5|df=y
Sheffield, England
death = death date and age|1870|1|18|1791|7|5|df=y
Sheffield, England
school_tradition = Utilitarianism
Liberalism
main_interests = Economics
Political philosophy
Inductive Logic
influences =
influenced =
notable_ideas =

Samuel Bailey (5 July 1791 – 18 January 1870) was a British philosopher and writer. He was called the "Bentham of Hallamshire". [Elliott, Ebenezer. "The Poetical Works of Ebenezer Elliott". 2 volumes. London: King & Co., 1876. [http://books.google.com/books?id=Qldep5fhhuwC&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA127,M1 vol. 1, p. 127] .]

Life

Samuel Bailey was born at Sheffield on 5 July 1791, the son of Joseph Bailey and Mary Eadon. His father was among the first of those Sheffield merchants who went to the United States to establish trade connections. After a few years in his father's business, he retired with an ample fortune from all business concerns, with the exception of the Sheffield Banking Company, of which he was chairman for many years. Although an ardent liberal, he took little part in political affairs. On two occasions he stood for Sheffield as a "philosophic radical", but without success.

His life is for the most part a history of his numerous and varied publications. He died suddenly on 18 January 1870, leaving over £80,000 to the town trustees of Sheffield for public use.

Thought

His first work, "Essays on the Formation and Publication of Opinions", published anonymously in 1821, attracted more attention than any of his other writings. A sequel to it appeared in 1829, "Essays on the Pursuit of Truth". Between these two were "Questions in Political Economy, Politics, Morals, &c." (1823), and a "Critical Dissertation on the Nature, Measure, and Causes of Value" (1825), directed against the opinions of David Ricardo and his school.

His next publications also were on economic or political subjects, "Rationale of Political Representation" (1835), and "Money and its Vicissitudes" (1837). About the same time also appeared some of his pamphlets, "Discussion of Parliamentary Reform", "Right of Primogeniture Examined", "Defence of Joint-Stock Banks". In 1842 appeared his "Review of Berkeley's Theory of Vision" which called forth rejoinders from John Stuart Mill in the "Westminster Review" [Mill's review appeared in the October 1842 issue of the "Westminster Review". It was reprinted in his "Dissertations and Discussions" (1859), [http://books.google.com/books?id=RqCrvijeeUQC&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA84,M1 vol. 2, pp. 84-119] .] and from James Frederick Ferrier in "Blackwood's Magazine". [Ferrier's review appeared in the June 1842 issue of "Blackwood's Magazine". It was reprinted in his "Lectures on Greek Philosophy and Other Philosophical Remains" (1866), [http://books.google.com/books?id=bYYqAAAAMAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA291,M1 vol. 2, pp. 291-347] .] Bailey replied to his critics in a "Letter to a Philosopher" (1843), &c.

In 1851 he published "Theory of Reasoning", a discussion of the nature of inference, and an able criticism of the functions and value of the syllogism. In 1852 he published "Discourses on Various Subjects"; and finally summed up his philosophic views in the "Letters on the Philosophy of the Human Mind" (three series, 1855, 1858,1863). The "Letters" contain a discussion of many of the principal problems in psychology and ethics. Bailey can hardly be classed as belonging either to the strictly empirical or to the idealist school, but his general tendency is towards the former. (1) In regard to method, he founds psychology entirely on introspection. He thus, to a certain extent, agrees with the Scottish School, but he differs from them in rejecting altogether the doctrine of mental faculties. What have been designated faculties are, upon his view, merely classified facts or phenomena of consciousness. He criticizes very severely the habitual use of metaphorical language in describing mental operations. (2) His doctrine of perception, which is, in brief, that "the perception of external things through the organs of sense is a direct mental act or phenomenon of consciousness not susceptible of being resolved into anything else," [Bain, Alexander."The Senses and the Intellect". London: Parker & Son, 1855. [http://books.google.com/books?id=iJgu5v1CJ8gC&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA370,M1 Page 370] ] and the reality of which can be neither proved nor disproved, is not worked out in detail, but is supported by elaborate and sometimes subtle criticisms of all other theories. (3) With regard to general and abstract ideas and general propositions, his opinions are those of the empirical school, but his analysis frequently puts the matter in a new light. (4) In the theory of morals, Bailey is an advocate of utilitarianism (though he objects to the term "utility" as being narrow and, to the unthinking, of sordid content), and works out with great skill the steps in the formation of the "complex" mental facts involved in the recognition of duty, obligation, right. He bases all moral phenomena on five facts: (1) Man is susceptible to pleasure (and pain); (2) he likes (or dislikes) their causes; (3) he desires to reciprocate pleasure and pain received; (4) he expects such reciprocation from others; (5) he feels more or less sympathy with the same feelings in his fellows (cf. "Letters", 3rd series).

In 1845 he published "Maro" a poem in four cantos (85 pp., Longmans), containing a description of a young poet who printed 1000 copies of his first poem, of which only 10 were sold. He was a diligent student of Shakespeare, and his last literary work was "On the Received Text of Shakespeare's Dramatic Writings and its Improvement" (1862).

Works

* "Essays on the Formation and Publication of Opinions" (1821). [http://books.google.com/books?id=c951vW1FLKsC Google (NYPL)] [http://www.archive.org/details/essaysonformatio00bailuoft IA (UToronto)]
**2nd edition, 1826. [http://www.archive.org/details/essaysonformatio00bailiala IA (UCal)] Philadelphia, 1831. [http://www.archive.org/details/essaysonformatio00bailrich IA (UCal)]
**3rd edition, 1837. [http://books.google.com/books?id=VAwOAAAAYAAJ Google (NYPL)] [http://books.google.com/books?id=PfjrMnW0iEUC Google (UMich)] Boston, 1854. [http://books.google.com/books?id=ck_V11Qs9hcC Google (NYPL)] [http://www.archive.org/details/formationopinions0bailrich IA (UCal)]
* "Questions in Political Economy, Politics, Morals, Metaphysics, &c." (1823). [http://books.google.com/books?id=Dt8kAAAAMAAJ Google (NYPL)] [http://www.archive.org/details/questionsinpolit00bailuoft IA (UToronto)]
* "A Critical Dissertation on the Nature, Measures, and Causes of Value" (1825). [http://books.google.com/books?id=onJnPnLxPcMC Google (Harvard)]
* "A Letter to a Political Economist" (1826). [Pamphlet, 101 pp.] [http://books.google.com/books?id=_qX95FF6wKEC Google (Oxford)] [http://books.google.com/books?id=I4E-AAAAIAAJ Google (UCal)] [http://www.archive.org/details/lettertopolitica00bailrich IA (UCal)] [http://www.archive.org/details/lettertopolitica00bailuoft IA (UToronto)]
* "Essays on the Pursuit of Truth, &c." (1829). [http://books.google.com/books?id=dgsQAAAAYAAJ Google (Harvard)] [http://books.google.com/books?id=Sx7XBbDkxCkC Google (Oxford)] Philadelphia, 1831. [http://books.google.com/books?id=1AsOAAAAYAAJ Google (Harvard)]
**2nd edition, 1844. [http://books.google.com/books?id=1eQDAAAAQAAJ Google (Oxford)] [http://www.archive.org/details/essaysonpursuito00bailiala IA (UCal)]
* "Discussion of Parliamentary Reform" (1831). [Pamphlet, 55 pp.]
* "The Rationale of Political Representation" (1835). [http://books.google.com/books?id=TnUSAAAAIAAJ Google (NYPL)] [http://books.google.com/books?id=5ncBAAAAQAAJ Google (Oxford)] [http://books.google.com/books?id=RGcNAAAAIAAJ Google (Stanford)] [http://www.archive.org/details/rationaleofpolit00bailuoft IA (UToronto)]
* "Right of Primogeniture Examined" (1837). [Pamphlet, 60 pp.]
* "Money and Its Vicissitudes in Value" (1837). [http://books.google.com/books?id=HchHAAAAIAAJ Google (UCal)] [http://www.archive.org/details/moneyitsvicissit00bailrich IA (UCal)]
* "Defence of Joint-Stock Banks" (1840). [Pamphlet, 100 pp.]
* "A Review of Berkeley's Theory of Vision" (1842). [http://books.google.com/books?id=udkQAAAAYAAJ Google (Harvard)] [http://books.google.com/books?id=oWUfAAAAMAAJ Google (UMich)]
* "Letter to a Philosopher in Reply to Some Recent Attempts to Vindicate &c." (1843). [Pamphlet, 68 pp.]
* "Maro; or, Poetic irritability" (1845). [http://books.google.com/books?id=WQ4EAAAAQAAJ Google (Oxford)]
* "The Theory of Reasoning" (1851). [http://books.google.com/books?id=kKlCAAAAIAAJ Google (UCal)] [http://www.archive.org/details/theoryofreasonin00bailrich IA (UCal)] 2nd ed., 1852. [http://www.archive.org/details/TheTheoryOfReasoning Internet Archive]
* "Discourses on Various Subjects" (1852). [http://books.google.com/books?id=qtEEAAAAYAAJ Google (Harvard)] [http://books.google.com/books?id=a5ICAAAAQAAJ Google (Oxford)] [http://books.google.com/books?id=TRMLAAAAMAAJ Google (UMich)]
* "Letters on the Philosophy of the Human Mind" (1855-1863).
** First series, 1855. [http://books.google.com/books?id=r60RAAAAYAAJ Google (Harvard)] [http://books.google.com/books?id=EgwOAAAAYAAJ Google (NYPL)] [http://books.google.com/books?id=KDUCAAAAQAAJ Google (Oxford)] [http://www.archive.org/details/lettersonphiloso01bailuoft IA (UToronto)]
** Second series, 1858. [http://books.google.com/books?id=5gsOAAAAYAAJ Google (NYPL)] [http://www.archive.org/details/lettersonphiloso02bailiala IA (UCal)] [http://www.archive.org/details/lettersonphiloso02bailuoft IA (UToronto)]
** Third series, 1863. [http://www.archive.org/details/lettersonphiloso00bailuoft IA (UToronto)]
* "On the received text of Shakespeare's dramatic writings and its Improvement" (1862-1866). 2 volumes.
**Volume 1, 1862. [http://books.google.com/books?id=1Z0NAAAAQAAJ Google (Oxford)] [http://www.archive.org/details/onreceivedtextof00bailuoft IA (UToronto)]
**Volume 2, 1866. [http://books.google.com/books?id=_p0NAAAAQAAJ Google (Oxford)]

Notes

References