 We saw that Bentham’s theory of normative language in general was that, because there is no object, substance or perceptible human affection for which they stand as a name, words such as ‘right’ must be ‘expounded’ by paraphrasing sentences containing them. The paraphrase would use sentences that contain only words that can be defined as referring to objects, substances, and affections. When no such paraphrase is available, he considered that normative language is meaningless. So he held that the phrase ‘natural rights’ is “simple nonsense: natural and imprescriptible rights, rhetorical nonsense; nonsense upon stilts” (Bentham 1843, Art.II). While the language is meaningless, he thought, we can explain its use—as a way of doing something. Using such nonsensical expressions is a way in which the speaker expresses his preferences.