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Published in 1874, Sidgwick's masterpiece argues the utilitarian approach to ethics and presents a systematic and historically sensitive approach to ethical research that influenced utilitarian philosophers well into the twentieth century. It remains a valuable introduction to the philosophy, practice and history of ethics. This reissue includes the 1877 supplement.

The Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet (1796-1874) pioneered social statistics, characterising the 'average man' by the mean values of measured variables. Published in English in 1842, this is his most influential work, setting out his 'analysis of normal man through his actions and of intellectual man through his productions'.

Published posthumously in 1755, this two-volume set offers the most comprehensive account of the moral and political philosophy of Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746), often described as the father of the Scottish Enlightenment. The volumes examine whether and how individual natural rights derive from an innate understanding of moral behaviour.

Critic, poet and philosopher Friedrich von Schlegel (1772-1829) was a leading figure of German Romanticism. Reissued here is the 1847 English translation of two lecture cycles: 'Philosophie des Lebens', concerned with humankind's 'inner spiritual life', and 'Philosophie des Sprache und des Wortes', considering the nature of communication.

Leslie Stephen (1832-1904) was often inclined to consider faith and credulity to be a variation on a theme. In this collection of seven essays first published in 1893, he presents a readable, entertaining examination of the 'unknown', including arguments on agnosticism, belief, and dreams.

Leslie Stephen (1832-1904), the English author and literary critic, began researching what he later called his 'utilitarian bog' in the late 1870s, though this three-volume examination of English utilitarianism was not published until 1900. Volume 1 examines the philosophy's development, and its leading theorist, Jeremy Bentham (1774-1832).

One of the most influential of the Victorian philosophers, Henry Sidgwick (1838-1900) also made important contributions to fields such as economics, political theory, and classics. He analyses the practical side of governance in this 1891 work, in which he discusses topics such as political parties, law, and war.

In this two-volume work of 1843, John Stuart Mill (1806-73) establishes the principles of inductive reasoning and experimental method that inform his later works of political and social philosophy. Volume 1 features his introduction, outlining the science of logic, and discussion of syllogisms and induction.

F. H. Bradley (1846-1924) was the foremost philosopher of the nineteenth-century British Idealist movement. In the first pamphlet in this work, published in 1874, Bradley argues that a unity of history is the presupposition of all historical writing. The second, published in 1877, analyses Henry Sidgwick's paradox of hedonism.

First published in 1764 and reissued in 1818, this work is based on lectures delivered by Thomas Reid (1710-96) at King's College, Aberdeen. Reid criticised the sceptical philosophy propagated by Descartes, Locke and Hume, arguing that our senses demonstrate that the external world must exist.

Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-72) was a German intellectual whose attack on religion in this 1841 work was immediately controversial. The second edition of 1843 was translated into English by Marian Evans (1819-80) - who would become better known by her pen name of George Eliot - and published in 1854.

F. H. Bradley (1846-1924) was the most influential of the British Idealist philosophers who adopted the work of Hegel while rejecting utilitarianism. This major two-volume work was first published in 1883 and is reissued here in the 1922 second edition. Volume 1 contains analyses of judgment and inference.

Bernard Bosanquet (1848-1923) was a neo-Hegelian British philosopher and social theorist who turned his attention to the issue of art and aesthetics in this influential book, published in 1892. In it, Bonsanquet traces the development of aesthetic philosophy from the classical and medieval periods to his own time.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), the English philosopher, statesman and jurist, is best known for devising the empiricist method which forms the basis of modern science. This fourteen-volume edition, published 1857-74, arranges his complete works by subject matter: philosophy and general literature; legal works; and letters, political speeches and tracts.

Published in 1882, this book sets out the arguments of evolutionary ethics, which were inspired by Darwin's ideas on natural selection. It was widely adopted as a standard textbook on moral philosophy, and became one of the most influential publications on the subject.

Bernard Bosanquet (1848-1923) was a neo-Hegelian British philosopher who was interested in the role of logic in metaphysics. He published this two-volume work, which examines philosophical questions relating to logic, in 1888. In Volume 1, he examines the practices of judgment and measurement.

Bernard Bosanquet (1848-1923) was a neo-Hegelian British philosopher who had an interest in contemporary social theory. He examines ideas about the state, and the people who live in it, in this influential work, which was first published in 1899 and ran to four editions by 1923.

First published in 1758, this enormously influential work by Swiss diplomat and jurist Emmerich de Vattel (1714-76) laid the foundation for modern international law and politics. Barrister Joseph Chitty's edition of the book, published in 1834, revises and amends a previous English translation of 1797, and includes comprehensive notes.

This two-volume work, first published in 1896, brings together lectures given by Sir Leslie Stephen to various ethical societies, mostly in London. A broad range of ethical issues, including the role of such societies, politics, social equality, heredity, and crime and punishment, is discussed.

Written by Cambridge philosopher and economist Henry Sidgwick (1838-1900), this work defends the utilitarian convictions of John Stuart Mill against a newer, more radical generation of economic philosophers. The book was first published in 1883; the second edition, reissued here, was published in 1887.

Thomas Hill Green (1836-82) was one of the most influential English philosophers of his time. This three-volume collection includes previously unpublished papers and lectures. Volume 1, published in 1885, includes 'Introductions to Hume's Treatise of Human Nature', Green's analysis of the work of David Hume (1711-76).

Published in 1776, this is a classic two-volume work on rhetorical theory by a leading figure of the Scottish Enlightenment. George Campbell (1719-96) was particularly interested in the effect of successful rhetoric upon the mind, combining classical theory with the latest thinking in the social, behavioural and natural sciences.

Frances Power Cobbe (1822-1904) was an Irish writer and social reformer best known for her contributions to Victorian feminism. These volumes, first published anonymously in 1855, discuss Cobbe's religious beliefs, which blended Immanuel Kant's moral philosophy with theistic philosophy. Volume 1 contains her ideas on the origin of morality.

Whewell's History, published in 1837, surveys the development of the physical sciences from Pythagoras to the early nineteenth century. Volume 1 focuses on ancient Greek physics and metaphysics and their reception during the middle ages. It also discusses the rise of modern astronomy as exemplified by Copernicus and Kepler.

One of the nineteenth century's most famous intellectuals, Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) coined the term 'survival of the fittest', which led to his being regarded as a Social Darwinist. Published in 1908 and based on his correspondence, this biography tracks his developing interests and assesses his character and significance.

First published in 1899, this is the first of two volumes of lectures by Cambridge Professor James Ward (1843-1925), in which he argues for Idealism over Naturalism and Agnosticism. Volume 1 criticises the Mechanical Theory as a way of accounting for human experience in purely scientific terms.

Eckermann's recollections of his conversations with Goethe during the last nine years of his life were originally published in three volumes in Germany in 1836 and 1848. This two-volume English edition, published in 1850, helped to reawaken interest in Goethe. Volume 1 covers the period from 1822 to 1827.

Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-95) was an influential biologist and tireless campaigner for the improvement of science education. This nine-volume collection of essays, edited by him and published in 1893-4, illustrates the wide range of his intellectual interests. Volume 1 examines the development of scientific practice and knowledge.

Remembered for a mind 'most difficult to describe in its powers, its strangeness, its uniqueness', William Clifford (1845-79) integrated mathematics, ethics and evolution in this two-volume work of 1879, a posthumous collection of public addresses and writings edited by Leslie Stephen and Frederick Pollock.