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Primary sourceBook1824

The Book of Fallacies

Jeremy Bentham · 1824

Bentham's 1824 catalogue of the rhetorical tricks politicians use to resist reform, published under a pseudonym.

Bentham wrote this book himself, applying his theory of political deception to real debates over reform.

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Back cover of a book bound in red leather with a marbled brown, cream, and blue paper board in the center. The red spine edge runs down the left side against a black background, with red corners at top right and bottom right.
Jeremy Bentham, The Book of Fallacies, 1824. British Library.

About this source

What it is

A book by Jeremy Bentham, published in 1824 under the pseudonym Gamaliel Smith. It lists and names the deceptive arguments used in political debate. A copy is held by the British Library.

Why it matters

Bentham believed politicians often defended their own privileges by using clever-sounding but misleading arguments, which he called fallacies. This book puts into practice his idea of 'sinister interest' — the notion that people in power disguise self-interest as reasoned argument. It shows Bentham as a sharp critic of the political establishment of his time, trying to arm reformers with tools to spot manipulation.

Look closer

  • Why might Bentham have hidden his authorship behind a pseudonym?
  • What does the choice to write a 'catalogue' of fallacies, rather than a single argument, tell you about his method?
  • Can you think of modern examples of the kinds of tricks Bentham describes?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Jeremy Bentham on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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