Jeremy Bentham was a British philosopher and political reformist. Bentham is best known for his moral philosophy and philosophy of law. Although Bentham's work was not very influential during his lifetime, most historians agree that his posthumously published works had an enormous impact on Western philosophy and law. Bentham lived from 1748 to 1832 and lived mainly off his father's wealthy inheritance, allowing him to concentrate on writing. Most of Bentham's work concerned the philosophy of law: his most famous work is An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, which focuses primarily on moral philosophy. On January 1, 1879, Clarendon Press published An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. It was the most important piece of Bentham's moral philosophy. In 1913, Elie Halévy, author of History of the English People in the Nineteenth Century and historian, wrote “there are three main features which form the basis of Bentham's moral and political philosophy: (i) the principle of the greatest happiness, (ii ) the artificial principle of identification of one's own interests with those of others and (iii) universal selfishness” (page # of the quote). Since this book most historians have used this three-part theory to divide An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. It begins with the greatest happiness principle in which we see the birth of utilitarianism, then the artificial identification of one's own interests with those of others, and finally Bentham introduces universal selfishness. The Merriam-Webster definition of universal is “done or experienced by all.” is the definition that will be used with this word when applied to selfishness. The Merriam Webster definition of selfishness is “a doctrine that the individual is self-interested… center of paper… nineteenth-century Englishmen. New York: Barnes, 1961. Print."Universal." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster and Web. November 19, 2013. “Selfishness.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster and Web. November 19, 2013. “hedonism.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, ndWeb. November 19, 2013.Weijers, Daniel M. “Hedonism.” Encyclopedia of philosophy on the Internet. Np, 10 August 2011. Web. 18 November 2013. Weijers, Daniel Michael. Hedonism and happiness in theory and practice: a thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington to fulfill the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy [in Philosophy]. New Zealand: Victoria University of Wellington, 2012. Print.