邊沁的法律改革網絡：以《法學家報》（The Jurist）為中心（1827–1833）

Jeremy Bentham’s Law Reform Networking around The Jurist, c. 1827-1833

1827年3月，青年律師亨利．比科斯特斯（Henry Bickersteth, 1783–1851）、約瑟夫．帕克斯（Joseph Parkes, 1796–1865）和薩頓．夏普（Sutton Sharpe, 1797–1843）在英國哲學家邊沁（Jeremy Bentham, 1748–1832）不知情的情況下，創辦了法學期刊《法學家報》（The Jurist），該期刊稱邊沁是法律改革者的領袖。《法學家報》吸引了以律師為主的諸多投稿人，並在1827–1833年間發表了97篇文章。本文確認了19位參與這項出版工程的人士，還原邊沁周圍人員的社交網絡、生活背景以及與邊沁的互動。本文認為，到1820年代末，邊沁已經成為許多年輕改革派律師的思想導師。在他們的作品裏，邊沁的功利主義法律思想與其他派別的政治語言相融合，在一定程度上促進了啟蒙時代理性法理想的流行。《法學家報》也刺激知名報紙和法律作者回應如何有效改進普通法。考察這份期刊成員和公共影響力，顯示邊沁對法律改革者的影響大於目前史學界的評估。

In March 1827, young lawyers Henry Bickersteth (1783–1851), Joseph Parkes (1796–1865), and Sutton Sharpe (1797–1843) established a legal periodical titled The Jurist without Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832)’s knowledge. However, the journal bestowed upon Bentham the title of the leader of the law reformers. The journal attracted a multitude of contributors, primarily lawyers, and published 97 articles from 1827 to 1833. This paper identifies 19 individuals involved in the publishing project and reconstructs the networks surrounding Bentham, the milieu they inhabited, and their interactions with him. By the late 1820s, Bentham had emerged as a significant source of inspiration for a considerable group of young lawyers dedicated to reform. In their writings, Bentham’s utilitarian legal philosophy intersected with various political discourses, contributing to the partial popularization of the Enlightenment concept of a rational legal system. The Jurist elicited responses from renowned newspapers and legal writers regarding the optimal methods for enhancing the common law. This examination of the journal’s membership and its public impact suggests that Bentham’s influence on law reformers was more substantial than usually estimated in current historiography.