Jeremy Bentham

Jeremy Bentham (; 4 February 1747/8 O.S. [15 February 1748 N.S.] – 6 June 1832) was an English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer widely recognized as the progenitor of modern utilitarianism.

Jeremy Bentham (; 4 February 1747/8 O.S. [15 February 1748 N.S.] – 6 June 1832) was an English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism.

Bentham posited that the "greatest happiness of the greatest number" constituted the "fundamental axiom" of his philosophy, serving as the measure of right and wrong. He emerged as a prominent theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law and a political radical whose concepts significantly influenced the development of welfarism. His advocacy extended to individual and economic freedoms, the separation of church and state, freedom of expression, equal rights for women, the right to divorce, and, in an unpublished essay, the decriminalization of homosexual acts. Furthermore, he called for the abolition of slavery, capital punishment, and corporal punishment, including that inflicted upon children. Bentham is also recognized as an early proponent of animal rights. While a staunch advocate for the expansion of individual legal rights, he vehemently opposed the notions of natural law and natural rights, which he dismissed as "nonsense upon stilts" due to their perceived divine or God-given origins. Conversely, he considered the Magna Carta important, citing it to argue that the treatment of convicts in Australia was unlawful. Bentham was also an incisive critic of legal fictions.

Among Bentham's notable students were his secretary and collaborator James Mill, James Mill's son John Stuart Mill, the legal philosopher John Austin, and the American writer and activist John Neal. He exerted substantial influence on the reform of prisons, schools, poor laws, law courts, and Parliament itself.

Upon his death in 1832, Bentham bequeathed instructions for his body to undergo dissection and subsequent permanent preservation as an "auto-icon" (or self-image) to serve as his memorial. These instructions were executed, and the auto-icon is currently exhibited publicly in the entrance of the Student Centre at University College London (UCL). Although he has been characterized as the "spiritual founder" of UCL owing to his advocacy for accessible education, his direct participation in the university's establishment remained circumscribed.

Bentham is renowned for his seminal work, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789), which articulates his theory of utilitarianism and stands as the inaugural comprehensive treatise on the subject.

Biography

Early life

Bentham was born in Houndsditch, London, on 4 February 1747/8 O.S. [15 February 1748 N.S.], to Jeremiah Bentham, an attorney, and Alicia Woodward, who was the widow of a Mr. Whitehorne and daughter of Thomas Grove, a mercer from Andover. His affluent family maintained allegiance to the Tory party. He reportedly exhibited precocious intellectual abilities: as a toddler, he was discovered engrossed in a multi-volume history of England at his father's desk, and he commenced Latin studies at the age of three. He acquired proficiency in the violin, performing Handel's sonatas at dinner parties by the age of seven. He maintained a close relationship with his sole surviving sibling, Samuel Bentham.

After attending Westminster School, Bentham was sent by his father to The Queen's College, Oxford, in 1760 at the age of 12, where he completed his bachelor's degree in 1764 and subsequently received his Master of Arts in 1767. Although he trained as a lawyer and was called to the bar in 1769, he never practiced law. He grew profoundly frustrated with the intricacies of English law, which he pejoratively labeled the "Demon of Chicane." Following the American colonies' publication of their Declaration of Independence in July 1776, the British government, rather than issuing an official response, covertly commissioned John Lind, a London lawyer and pamphleteer, to produce a rebuttal. Lind's 130-page tract, distributed throughout the colonies, included an essay titled "Short Review of the Declaration," authored by Bentham, a friend of Lind, which critically assailed and derided the Americans' political philosophy.

Abortive prison project and the Panopticon

In 1786 and 1787, Bentham journeyed to Krichev in White Russia (present-day Belarus) to Samuel originated the fundamental concept of a circular edifice situated at the core of a larger complex, intended to facilitate the supervision of a substantial, unskilled workforce by a minimal number of managers—a contribution Jeremy subsequently and repeatedly recognized.

Bentham initiated the development of this model, specifically for penal institutions, detailing his concepts in correspondence dispatched to his father in England. He augmented the supervisory framework with the concept of contract management, defining it as an administrative system based on contractual agreements rather than trust, wherein the director would possess a financial incentive to reduce the average mortality rate.

The Panopticon was conceived as a more economical alternative to contemporary prisons, primarily due to its reduced staffing requirements. Bentham famously proposed to a Committee for the Reform of Criminal Law, "Allow me to construct a prison on this model, I will be the gaoler. You will see ... that the gaoler will have no salary—will cost nothing to the nation." The invisibility of the watchmen meant they were not required to be constantly present, thereby shifting the burden of surveillance onto the inmates themselves. Furthermore, Bentham's design incorporated the use of prisoners for manual labor, such as operating treadmills for weaving or powering a water wheel, which would further diminish operational costs and potentially generate revenue.

The ultimately unsuccessful proposition for a Panopticon prison in England constituted one of numerous legal and social reform initiatives advanced by Bentham. He dedicated approximately sixteen years to the development and refinement of his architectural concepts, anticipating government adoption of the plan for a National Penitentiary, with himself appointed as contractor-governor. Despite the prison's never being constructed, its underlying concept significantly impacted subsequent intellectual discourse. The 20th-century French philosopher Michel Foucault posited that the Panopticon served as a paradigmatic model for various 19th-century "disciplinary" institutions. Throughout his later years, Bentham harbored resentment regarding the rejection of the Panopticon scheme, attributing its failure to obstruction by the King and an aristocratic elite. Philip Schofield contends that Bentham's profound sense of injustice and frustration largely motivated his formulation of "sinister interest"—defined as the entrenched interests of powerful factions conspiring against the broader public good—which subsequently informed many of his wider reformist arguments.

Upon his return to England from Russia, Bentham commissioned architectural drawings from Willey Reveley. In 1791, he formally published his accumulated writings as a book, though he persisted in refining his proposals for several subsequent years. By this juncture, he had resolved to see the prison constructed, envisioning its management by himself as contractor-governor, aided by Samuel. Following unsuccessful overtures to authorities in Ireland and revolutionary France, he commenced efforts to convince Prime Minister William Pitt to resurrect a previously abandoned plan for a National Penitentiary in England, now to be realized as a Panopticon. Ultimately, he succeeded in gaining the support of Pitt and his advisors, receiving £2,000 in 1794 for preliminary project work.

The initially designated location, authorized under the Appropriation Act 1799 (39 Geo. 3. c. 114) for the preceding penitentiary, was Battersea Rise. However, the revised proposals encountered technical legal impediments and opposition from the local proprietor, Earl Spencer. Alternative locations were evaluated, including Hanging Wood near Woolwich, but none proved suitable. Subsequently, Bentham focused on a site at Tothill Fields, adjacent to Westminster. Despite its status as common land without a single landowner, various parties held interests in it, notably Earl Grosvenor, who owned a neighboring residence and opposed the prospect of a prison overlooking his property. Consequently, the project again stalled. At this juncture, however, a proximate site at Millbank, bordering the Thames, became available for purchase, facilitating a smoother progression. Utilizing government funds, Bentham acquired the land for the Crown at a cost of £12,000 in November 1799.

Bentham considered the proposed site suboptimal, characterized by marshland, unhealthiness, and insufficient area. His request to the government for additional land and funding was met with a directive to construct merely a small-scale experimental prison. This he perceived as indicative of a lack of genuine commitment to the panopticon concept as a fundamental element of penal reform. Despite ongoing negotiations, Pitt's resignation in 1801 and the subsequent decision by the Addington administration in 1803 to abandon the project ultimately halted its progress. Bentham expressed profound disappointment, lamenting, "They have murdered my best days."

Nevertheless, the government revisited the concept of a National Penitentiary several years later, specifically reconsidering the panopticon design in 1811 and 1812. At 63 years old, Bentham remained prepared to assume the role of governor. Recognizing the continued absence of genuine governmental commitment, however, he relinquished his aspirations and redirected his efforts toward securing financial restitution for his extensive, unrewarded endeavors. His initial demand amounted to nearly £700,000, a substantial sum, though he ultimately accepted a more moderate, yet still significant, settlement of £23,000. The Penitentiary House, etc. Act 1812 (52 Geo. 3. c. 44) formally transferred his ownership rights to the site to the Crown.

A more successful undertaking involved his collaboration with Patrick Colquhoun to address corruption within the Pool of London. This partnership culminated in the enactment of the Depredations on the Thames Act 1800 (39 & 40 Geo. 3. c. 87). This legislation established the Thames River Police, recognized as the nation's inaugural preventive police force and a significant precursor to Robert Peel's subsequent reforms three decades later.

Proposal for a South Australian Colony

On August 3, 1831, the National Colonization Society's Committee authorized the publication of its plan to establish a self-governing colony on Australia's southern coast, financed by the sale of designated colonial lands and managed by a joint-stock company, with self-governance to be granted expeditiously. Despite common belief, Bentham was not involved in drafting the 'Proposal to His Majesty's Government for founding a colony on the Southern Coast of Australia,' which was instead developed under the patronage of Robert Gouger, Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, and Anthony Bacon. Nevertheless, in August 1831, Bentham did compose an unpublished manuscript titled 'Colonization Company Proposal,' which served as his critical commentary on the National Colonization Society's 'Proposal.'

The Westminster Review

In 1823, Bentham, alongside James Mill, co-founded The Westminster Review, a periodical intended for the "Philosophical Radicals," a cohort of younger adherents through whom Bentham wielded significant influence within British public discourse. Among these was John Bowring, to whom Bentham developed a deep attachment, characterizing their bond as "son and father"; Bowring was appointed political editor of The Westminster Review and subsequently became Bentham's literary executor. Another notable figure was Edwin Chadwick, whose writings focused on hygiene, sanitation, and policing, and who played a crucial role in the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834; Bentham engaged Chadwick as a secretary and left him a substantial inheritance.

Death and the Auto-Icon

Bentham passed away on June 6, 1832, at the age of 84, at his London residence in Queen Square Place, Westminster. He maintained his writing activities until a month prior to his death and meticulously arranged for the post-mortem dissection of his body and its subsequent preservation as an auto-icon. In 1769, at the age of 21, Bentham had already stipulated in his will that his body be bequeathed for dissection to George Fordyce, a family friend, physician, and chemist, whose daughter, Maria Sophia (1765–1858), later married Bentham's brother, Samuel. An accompanying document, drafted in 1830, provided instructions to Thomas Southwood Smith for the creation of the auto-icon and was appended to Bentham's final will, dated May 30, 1832. This document declared:

I bequeath my body to my esteemed friend Dr. Southwood Smith, to be managed in the manner subsequently specified, and I instruct ... he shall assume custody of my body and undertake the necessary and suitable procedures for the disposition and preservation of the various components of my physical form, as detailed in the document appended to this my will, at the top of which I have inscribed 'Auto Icon.'

The skeleton was to be assembled and positioned in his customary chair, adopting the characteristic pose he assumed while engaged in thoughtful writing.

The prepared body was to be transferred to his executor, who was instructed to dress the skeleton in one of Bentham's black suits. This clothed figure, along with the chair and the staff he used in his later years, was to be entrusted to the executor's care. An appropriate box or case was to be prepared to house this entire assembly. Furthermore, a plate affixed to the box/case and labels on the glass case containing his preserved soft parts were to be conspicuously engraved with his full name, followed by "ob:" and the date of his death.

Should his personal friends and disciples convene annually to commemorate the founder of the "greatest happiness system" of morals and legislation, his executor was to periodically arrange for the box or case, with its contents, to be brought into their meeting room and positioned as deemed appropriate by the attendees. – Queen's Square Place, Westminster, Wednesday 30 May 1832.

Bentham's desire to preserve his remains aligned with his utilitarian philosophy. In his essay Auto-Icon, or Farther Uses of the Dead to the Living, Bentham proposed, "If a country gentleman has rows of trees leading to his dwelling, the auto-icons of his family might alternate with the trees; copal varnish would protect the face from the effects of rain." On June 8, 1832, two days post-mortem, invitations were extended to a select group of associates. The subsequent day, at 3 p.m., Southwood Smith delivered an extensive eulogy over Bentham's remains at the Webb Street School of Anatomy & Medicine in Southwark, London. The published oration features a frontispiece depicting an engraving of Bentham's body partially draped by a sheet.

Subsequently, the skeleton and head were preserved and housed within a wooden cabinet designated as the "auto-icon," with the skeleton padded with hay and attired in Bentham's clothing. From 1833, the auto-icon resided in Southwood Smith's Finsbury Square consulting rooms until his cessation of private practice in the winter of 1849–50. It was then relocated to 36 Percy Street, the studio of his unofficial partner, the painter Margaret Gillies, who utilized it for artistic studies. In March 1850, Southwood Smith presented the auto-icon to Henry Brougham, who promptly accepted it on behalf of University College London (UCL).

The auto-icon is presently exhibited publicly at the main entrance of the UCL Student Centre. Prior to 2020, it was displayed at the terminus of the South Cloisters within the college's main building. However, in 2013, upon the retirement of Sir Malcolm Grant as college provost, the auto-icon was present at his final council meeting. As of that year, this marked the sole occasion Bentham's body had been brought to a UCL council meeting. A persistent myth suggests that Bentham's body attends all council meetings, recorded as "Present—but not voting."

Bentham's original intention was for the auto-icon to feature his actual head, mummified to retain its lifelike appearance. Southwood Smith's experimental mummification process, informed by the preservation techniques of New Zealand's indigenous Māori, entailed placing the head under an air pump above sulphuric acid to extract fluids. Despite its technical efficacy, the procedure resulted in a distastefully macabre appearance, characterized by dried, darkened skin stretched tautly over the skull.

Consequently, the auto-icon was fitted with a wax head, incorporating some of Bentham's own hair. For many years, the actual head was exhibited alongside the auto-icon, but it frequently became the subject of student pranks. Subsequently, it was secured in storage.

In 2020, the auto-icon was rehoused in a new glass display case and relocated to the entrance of UCL's new Student Centre on Gordon Square.

Personal life

Jeremy Bentham maintained a highly structured and disciplined lifestyle, yet he also displayed notable eccentricities. For instance, he affectionately named his walking stick "Dapple" and his cat "The Reverend Sir John Langbourne." Despite writing on topics related to sexuality and experiencing several infatuations with women, he remained unmarried throughout his life. His daily routine typically involved waking at 6 am, engaging in a walk of two hours or more, and subsequently working until 4 pm.

Further insight into Bentham's character is provided in Michael St. John Packe's work, The Life of John Stuart Mill:

During his youthful visits to Bowood House, the country seat of his patron Lord Lansdowne, Bentham reportedly spent his time unsuccessfully pursuing romantic interests among the household's women. He courted them with an awkward humor, often while playing chess or providing harpsichord lessons. Even at eighty years old, he maintained his hopeful disposition, writing to one of these women to remind her of an earlier occasion when she had "presented him, in ceremony, with the flower in the green lane" [citing Bentham's memoirs]. Throughout his life, any mention of Bowood would reportedly bring tears to his eyes, prompting him to declare, "Take me forward, I entreat you, to the future—do not let me go back to the past."

A psychobiographical analysis conducted by Philip Lucas and Anne Sheeran suggests that Bentham may have exhibited characteristics consistent with Asperger's syndrome.

Correspondence and Contemporary Influences

Bentham engaged in extensive correspondence with numerous influential figures. During the 1780s, for instance, he corresponded with the elderly Adam Smith, though his efforts to persuade Smith regarding the free flotation of interest rates proved unsuccessful. His exchanges with Mirabeau and other prominent figures of the French Revolution led to his designation as an honorary citizen of France. However, Bentham was a vocal critic of the revolutionary rhetoric concerning natural rights and condemned the violence that emerged following the Jacobins' ascent to power in 1792. From 1808 to 1810, he cultivated a personal friendship with the Latin American revolutionary Francisco de Miranda, visiting Miranda's residence in Grafton Way, London. He also established connections with José Cecilio del Valle.

In 1821, John Cartwright extended an invitation to Bentham, proposing that they serve as "Guardians of Constitutional Reform"—a group of seven "wise men" whose reports and observations would address the "entire Democracy or Commons of the United Kingdom." Bentham, however, declined this offer, characterizing himself as a "nonentity" among the other proposed members, who included Sir Francis Burdett, George Ensor, and Sir Matthew Wood.

United States

Bentham's perspective on the United States evolved throughout his life. Initially, he expressed disapproval of the American Revolution and its underlying philosophy of natural rights, characterizing the United States Declaration of Independence as a "hodge-podge of confusion and absurdity in which the thing to be proved is all along taken for granted."

Towards the end of his life, Bentham became a fervent admirer of the United States, referring to himself as a "Philo-Yankee" in an 1817 letter to John Adams Smith. In a 1830 correspondence with Andrew Jackson, Bentham further articulated his affinity, stating that he was "at heart more of a United-States-man than an Englishman."

Work

Aesthetics

Bentham conceptualized aesthetic value as intrinsically linked to the sensations of pain and pleasure. He famously asserted, "Prejudice apart, the game of push-pin is of equal value with the arts and sciences of music and poetry. If the game of push-pin furnish more pleasure, it is more valuable than either."

Animal Rights

Bentham is widely recognized as a foundational advocate for animal rights. He posited that the capacity to suffer, rather than the capacity for reason, should serve as the definitive criterion—what he termed the "insuperable line"—for determining rights. He argued that if reason were the sole basis for assigning rights, then human infants and individuals with certain disabilities might also be excluded. In 1780, referencing the minimal legal protections granted to enslaved people in the French West Indies under the Code Noir, he articulated:

Historically, and regrettably still in many regions, a significant portion of humanity, categorized as slaves, has been legally subjected to the same status as, for instance, lower animal species in England. A future era may emerge when the entire animal kingdom attains rights that have been unjustly denied solely through oppressive power. French thinkers have already established that skin pigmentation does not justify abandoning a human being to a tormentor's whims without recourse. Similarly, it may eventually be acknowledged that characteristics such as the number of limbs, the hairiness of the skin, or the structure of the os sacrum are equally inadequate justifications for subjecting any sentient creature to such a destiny. What other criterion should delineate this insurmountable boundary? Is it the capacity for reason, or perhaps the ability to communicate verbally? Yet, a mature horse or dog demonstrably exhibits greater rationality and conversational capacity than an infant merely days, weeks, or even a month old. Even if this premise were reversed, what practical significance would it hold? The pertinent inquiry is not whether they can reason or talk, but rather, whether they can suffer.

Previously, Bentham articulated his acceptance of killing animals for sustenance or in self-defense, contingent upon avoiding gratuitous suffering. He also did not oppose medical experimentation on animals, provided such research pursued a specific objective beneficial to humanity and demonstrated a plausible likelihood of success. Conversely, he expressed a "decided and insuperable objection" to inflicting pain on animals without such justification, partly due to the potential detrimental impact these actions could have on human morality. In a correspondence addressed to the editor of the Morning Chronicle in March 1825, Bentham stated:

I have never perceived, nor can I ever conceive, any objection to subjecting dogs and other lower animals to pain for medical experimentation, provided such an experiment possesses a defined objective beneficial to humanity and offers a reasonable likelihood of its successful attainment. However, I hold a resolute and insurmountable objection to inflicting pain upon them without such a purpose. In my estimation, any action that knowingly and willingly causes pain in any being, without the prospect of a greater good, constitutes an act of cruelty; and, akin to other detrimental habits, the more this corresponding practice is indulged, the more entrenched it becomes, and the more frequently it yields negative consequences. I cannot fathom why an individual who finds amusement in witnessing a dog or horse suffer would not similarly find amusement in observing human suffering, especially considering the demonstrably greater morality and intelligence possessed by an adult quadruped of these and numerous other species compared to a biped in its initial months of existence. Furthermore, it seems improbable to me that a person for whom the infliction of pain, either in the one or in the other instance, serves as entertainment, would hesitate to indulge in such amusement when assured of impunity.

Economics

Bentham advocated for individuals to pursue their self-interest within a free market framework, generally endorsing laissez-faire principles when they yielded optimal outcomes. Concerning governmental involvement in the economy, he asserted: "To foster an increase in national wealth, the prevailing principle dictates that government should undertake no action or intervention. The guiding maxim for government in such circumstances ought to be: 'Be quiet.'" While acknowledging the law of diminishing marginal utility—where an additional pound sterling provides less utility to a wealthy individual than to an impoverished one—and deeming a degree of redistributive taxation justifiable, he cautioned against the complete reallocation of property. Although contending that "the imminent suffering of death for the starving poor would invariably constitute a more severe hardship than the disappointment experienced by the affluent when a portion of their surplus is appropriated," Bentham further stipulated: "The extent of legal contributions should not exceed what is strictly essential. Exceeding this limit would amount to taxing productive labor to subsidize indolence."

Bentham proposed that pleasures and pains could be categorized and evaluated based on "dimensions" like intensity, duration, and certainty. His focus on the maxima and minima of these sensations established a foundational precedent for the subsequent application of the maximization principle in consumer economics, firm theory, and the pursuit of optimal outcomes in welfare economics.

Bentham championed "Pauper Management," a system predicated on establishing a network of extensive workhouses.

Andrew Lawless asserts that Bentham's "theoretical contributions to the political, economic, legal and psychological structures of English capitalism were enormous." Lawless further notes that "Even Marx moved through a world that had been well-described by the arch-Philistine's voice." Bentham uniquely characterized and scrutinized late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth-century England, developing a comprehensive social theory and, in collaboration with James Mill and others, initiating a corresponding political movement.

Monetary Economics

Bentham's perspectives on monetary economics diverged significantly from David Ricardo's, yet they shared certain commonalities with Henry Thornton's views. He emphasized monetary expansion as a mechanism for achieving full employment. Furthermore, Bentham recognized the importance of concepts such as forced saving, the propensity to consume, and the saving-investment relationship, which are integral to contemporary income and employment analysis. His monetary theories closely aligned with the core principles of his utilitarian decision-making framework, positioning his work as an early antecedent to modern welfare economics.

Gender and Sexuality

Bentham asserted that the legal subjugation of women motivated his decision, at age eleven in 1759, to pursue a career as a reformist. However, American critic John Neal contended that he influenced Bentham to address women's rights during their association from 1825 to 1827. Bentham advocated for complete gender equality, supporting women's suffrage, the right to divorce, and the right to hold political office.

The c. 1785 essay, "Paederasty (Offences Against One's Self)," advocated for the liberalization of statutes criminalizing homosexual acts. This essay remained unpublished during Bentham's lifetime due to concerns about public moral offense. While some of Bentham's works on "sexual non-conformity" first appeared in 1931, Paederasty was not published until 1978. Bentham did not consider homosexual acts unnatural, characterizing them instead as mere "irregularities of the venereal appetite." The essay critiques contemporary society for its disproportionate reaction to what Bentham viewed as a predominantly private offense, noting that public displays or coerced acts were appropriately addressed by other legal frameworks. Upon its publication in the Journal of Homosexuality in 1978, the abstract identified Bentham's essay as the "first known argument for homosexual law reform in England."

Imperialism

From the early 1790s onward, Bentham's works articulated an opposition to imperialism. His 1793 pamphlet, Emancipate Your Colonies!, specifically criticized French colonialism. In the early 1820s, he contended that the liberal Spanish government ought to emancipate its New World colonies. Furthermore, in his essay Plan for an Universal and Perpetual Peace, Bentham advocated for Britain to emancipate its New World colonies and relinquish its colonial aspirations. He posited that empire was detrimental to the welfare of the majority in both the metropole and the colonies. Bentham argued that imperial ventures were financially unsustainable, imposed taxes on the metropolitan poor, led to unwarranted military expansion, compromised metropolitan security, and were ultimately driven by erroneous notions of honor and glory. Barbara Arneil, a scholar at the University of British Columbia, characterizes Bentham as "best understood as a pro-colonialist and anti-imperialist thinker."

Law Reform

Bentham pioneered the aggressive advocacy for codifying all common law into a cohesive statutory framework, even coining the verb "to codify" to describe the process of drafting a legal code. He actively campaigned for the establishment of codification commissions in both England and the United States, extending his efforts to write to President James Madison in 1811, offering to compose a comprehensive legal code for the nascent nation. Upon realizing the predominantly state-based nature of American law, he subsequently presented the same offer to the governors of every individual state.

Despite his extensive efforts, Bentham's codification proposals met with complete failure during his lifetime. Even in contemporary times, nearly all common law jurisdictions, including England, have largely rejected them. Nevertheless, his foundational writings on the subject significantly influenced the moderately successful codification work undertaken by David Dudley Field II in the United States a generation later.

Privacy

Bentham attributed moral value to transparency, observing, for instance, how journalism subjects those in power to ethical scrutiny. However, he envisioned this transparency applying to all influential individuals, illustrating this concept by picturing the world as a gymnasium where "every gesture, every turn of limb or feature, in those whose motions have a visible impact on the general happiness, will be noticed and marked down." He regarded both surveillance and transparency as effective mechanisms for fostering understanding and improving human lives.

Racial views

Bentham maintained that each race possessed distinct characteristics, independent of climate or birthplace. He articulated this perspective in An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation:

"Another article in the catalogue of secondary circumstances, is that of race or lineage: the national race or lineage a man issues from. This circumstance, independently of that of climate, will commonly make some difference in point of radical frame of mind and body. A man of negro race, born in France or England, is a very different being, in many respects, from a man of French or English race. A man of Spanish race, born in Mexico or Peru, is at the hour of his birth a different sort of being, in many respects, from a man of the original Mexican or Peruvian race. This circumstance, as far as it is distinct from climate, rank, and education, and from the two just mentioned, operates chiefly through the medium of moral, religious, sympathetic, and antipathetic biases".

In his 1782 essay, Of the Influence of Time and Place in Matters of Legislation, Bentham asserted, "The ascendancy of the English is an ascendancy of wisdom and understanding:—it is the same ascendancy that a Brahmin has over a Parias — a European over a Brahmin — and an Englishman over another European." While generally opposing imperialism, Bentham also stated in Emancipate Your Colonies that "it was in the long-term interests of India to be governed by a civilized nation like Britain."

Bentham characterized the Aboriginal Australians as an uncivilized populace. In an 1802 letter addressed to Lord Pelham, he described the Aboriginal people in New South Wales as "brutes in human shape," "the very dregs even of savage life—a species of society beyond comparison less favourable to colonisation than utter solitude," and "a set of living nuisances." Furthermore, in Colonization Company Proposal (1831), Bentham referred to the "hostility of the uncivilized aborigines."

Theory of Fictions

Bentham's Theory of Fictions investigated how language shapes thought, particularly within legal and political discourse. He differentiated between "fabulous entities," which are purely imaginary (e.g., literary or mythological figures such as Prince Hamlet or a centaur), and "fictitious entities," which, despite lacking physical existence, are indispensable for reasoning (e.g., laws, rights, and obligations). Similar to Kant's categories, including nature, custom, or the social contract, these fictitious entities serve to structure human understanding but do not possess independent existence.

While Bentham recognized the indispensable nature of "fictitious entities" for communication, he cautioned against their potential to obfuscate truth and facilitate manipulation, particularly within legal contexts. He considered legal fictions, exemplified by concepts like corporate personhood or sovereign authority, as instruments capable of being either beneficial or deceptive, contingent upon their specific deployment. Bentham's analytical framework subsequently impacted scholars in legal theory, the philosophy of language, and utilitarian ethics, promoting a commitment to clarity and empirical rationality in governmental and societal matters.

Utilitarianism

Jeremy Bentham is widely recognized as the progenitor of utilitarianism. His lifelong aspiration involved the development of a "Pannomion," a comprehensive legal system founded entirely on utilitarian principles. Beyond advocating numerous legal and social reforms, he articulated the foundational moral principle that ought to underpin them. The core tenet, or "fundamental axiom," of this utilitarian philosophy posits that the greatest happiness for the greatest number constitutes the ultimate criterion for discerning right from wrong. Bentham asserted that he derived this concept from Joseph Priestley's works; however, Priestley's closest articulation of this idea was expressed as: "the good and happiness of the members, that is the majority of the members of any state, is the great standard by which every thing [sic] relating to that state must finally be determined."

Bentham stands as a notable exception among prominent philosophers for his endorsement of psychological egoism. Furthermore, he was a staunch critic of religion, as noted by Crimmins: "Between 1809 and 1823 Jeremy Bentham carried out an exhaustive examination of religion with the declared aim of extirpating religious beliefs, even the idea of religion itself, from the minds of men."

Bentham additionally proposed a systematic method for evaluating the moral implications of any action, terming it the hedonistic or felicific calculus.

Principle of utility

The principle of utility, alternatively known as the "greatest happiness principle," constitutes the fundamental tenet of Bentham's entire philosophical framework. He defined "happiness" as the prevalence of "pleasure" over "pain." This concept is elaborated in his work, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, where he states:

Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do. On the one hand the standard of right and wrong, on the other the chain of causes and effects, are fastened to their throne. They govern us in all we do, in all we say, in all we think....

In Principles of Morals and Legislation, Bentham primarily examines the principle of utility and its integration with legislative methodologies. According to his principle of utility, good is defined as that which generates the maximum pleasure and minimal pain, whereas evil is characterized by the production of maximal pain devoid of pleasure. Bentham conceptualized pleasure and pain as encompassing both physical and spiritual dimensions. He further elaborates on the manifestation of this principle within societal legislation.

To quantify the magnitude of pain or pleasure resulting from a particular decision, Bentham established a comprehensive set of criteria, categorized as intensity, duration, certainty, proximity, productiveness, purity, and extent. Employing these metrics, he analyzed the concept of punishment, specifically addressing its appropriate application based on whether it would generate a net increase in pleasure or pain for society.

Bentham urged legislators to assess whether punitive measures might inadvertently engender more severe transgressions. He contended that, rather than merely suppressing undesirable behaviors, superfluous laws and penalties could paradoxically foster novel and more perilous vices than those initially targeted. Consequently, he implored lawmakers to meticulously evaluate the pleasures and pains linked to all legislation, thereby formulating statutes designed to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number. Bentham further posited that the individual's pursuit of personal happiness cannot inherently be deemed "right," as such endeavors frequently result in increased suffering and diminished collective pleasure for society. Thus, he concluded that societal legislation is indispensable for ensuring the maximization of pleasure and the minimization of pain for the largest possible population.

Hedonistic/felicific calculus

Bentham's felicific calculus introduced a system for evaluating actions based on a classification of 12 pains and 14 pleasures, designed to assess the "happiness factor" of any given act. P.J. Kelly notes that Bentham viewed the law as establishing the fundamental structure of social interaction by defining areas of personal autonomy, enabling individuals to develop and pursue their own definitions of well-being. This legal framework, according to Bentham, offers security, which is essential for the development of expectations. Given that the hedonic calculus indicates "expectation utilities" significantly surpass natural ones, Bentham's philosophy does not endorse sacrificing a minority for the benefit of the majority. However, law professor Alan Dershowitz has cited Bentham in support of the argument that torture may occasionally be justifiable.

Criticisms

John Stuart Mill, a student of Bentham, subsequently revised and expanded utilitarianism, offering a strong critique of Bentham's understanding of human nature for its omission of conscience as a fundamental human motivation. Mill contended that Bentham's perspective had caused and continued to cause "very serious evil." Mill's modifications served to temper and adapt Bentham's utilitarian structure, thereby influencing liberal perspectives on the objectives of state policy.

Critics of Bentham have asserted that his rejection of natural rights fundamentally weakened the basis of a free society. Historian Gertrude Himmelfarb observed that "The principle of the greatest happiness of the greatest number was as inimical to the idea of liberty as to the idea of rights."

Bentham's "hedonistic" theory, a term coined by J. J. C. Smart, frequently faces criticism for its perceived absence of a fairness principle, particularly within its conceptualization of justice. Gerald J. Postema, in Bentham and the Common Law Tradition, asserts: "No moral concept suffers more at Bentham's hand than the concept of justice. There is no sustained, mature analysis of the notion." Consequently, some critics argue that this framework could permit the torture of an individual if it generated a greater aggregate happiness for others, thereby outweighing the suffering of the tortured person. Nevertheless, P.J. Kelly contended in Utilitarianism and Distributive Justice: Jeremy Bentham and the Civil Law that Bentham indeed possessed a theory of justice designed to preclude such outcomes.

Legacy

Influence

Bentham's utilitarian philosophy furnished a rationale for Victorian laissez-faire economics, predicated on the belief that economic expansion would maximize happiness for the largest segment of the population. Eric Hobsbawm, in The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848, observes that Bentham's reformist concepts "expressed the bourgeois Britain of the 1830s."

Bentham's work influenced prominent economists, including Milton Friedman and Henry Hazlitt.

Initially, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels showed interest in Bentham's concepts and utilitarian philosophy during their early careers. However, Marx subsequently grew disillusioned with Bentham's ideas, characterizing him as "a genius of bourgeois stupidity." Marx further criticized Bentham's perspectives as excessively English and representative of the petite bourgeoisie, stating: "With the dullest naïveté he takes the modern petty-bourgeois philistine, especially the English philistine, as the normal man. Whatever is useful to this queer variety of normal man, and to his world, is useful in and for itself. This yardstick, then, he applies to past, present and future."

Bentham House, located adjacent to the main University College London (UCL) campus, houses the Faculty of Laws.

On November 28, 2013, the Australian litigation funder IMF Limited rebranded as Bentham IMF Limited, acknowledging Bentham's historical role as "among the first to support the utility of litigation funding."

University College London

Bentham is commonly linked to the establishment of London University in 1826, which later became University College London in 1836. Despite this association, he was 78 years old at the time of the university's opening and his contribution to its founding was largely indirect. His direct participation was restricted to purchasing a single £100 share, positioning him as one among more than a thousand shareholders.

Bentham's philosophical contributions are recognized as an inspiration for several of the university's founders. He advocated for broader access to education, especially for individuals lacking wealth or affiliation with the established church. During Bentham's era, admission to Oxford and Cambridge Universities necessitated membership in the Church of England and the ability to cover substantial costs. The University of London's pioneering policy of admitting all individuals irrespective of race, creed, or political conviction largely aligned with Bentham's educational philosophy. While evidence suggests he played a "more than passive part" in the institution's foundational planning, his "interest was greater than his influence." Although his attempt to secure a professorship in English or History for his disciple, John Bowring, was unsuccessful, he did facilitate the appointment of another student, John Austin, as the inaugural professor of Jurisprudence in 1829.

The more direct connections between Bentham and University College London (UCL), specifically the institution's custodianship of his Auto-icon and the majority of his extant papers, emerged several years after his demise. His papers were donated in 1849, followed by the Auto-icon in 1850. A significant painting by Henry Tonks, displayed in UCL's Flaxman Gallery, portrays Bentham endorsing the new university's plans; however, this artwork was created in 1922, and the depicted scene is entirely fictional. Since 1959, the year the Bentham Committee was founded, UCL has been home to the Bentham Project, which is systematically publishing a comprehensive edition of Bentham's collected works.

University College London currently seeks to recognize Bentham's foundational influence while simultaneously disavowing any implication of his direct operational involvement, by characterizing him as its "spiritual founder."

Bibliography

Bentham was a prolific and meticulous writer and reviser, yet he rarely managed to finalize and publish his own works. The majority of his publications during his lifetime were prepared for print by other individuals. Several of his texts initially emerged in French translation, prepared for publication by Étienne Dumont; an example is Theory of Legislation, Volume 2 (Principles of the Penal Code), published in 1840 by Weeks, Jordan, & Company in Boston. Some of these works first appeared in English during the 1820s, resulting from back-translations of Dumont's 1802 compilation and redaction of Bentham's writings on civil and penal legislation.

Publications

• A Fragment on Government (1776).
  • This publication presented an unsparing critique of certain introductory passages on political theory found in William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England. The anonymously published book received favorable reception and was initially ascribed to several leading intellects of the period. Bentham specifically contested Blackstone's defense of judge-made law, his endorsement of legal fictions, his theological framing of the doctrine of mixed government, his invocation of a social contract, and his utilization of natural law terminology. Bentham's "Fragment" comprised only a minor segment of a broader Commentary on the Commentaries, which remained unpublished until the twentieth century.
• Short Review of the Declaration (1776).
  • This text comprises a critical assessment of the United States Declaration of Independence.
• An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. London: T. Payne and Sons, 1780.
• Offences Against One's Self. Authored in 1785, this work was published in 1978 within the Journal of Homosexuality, 3(4), 398–405, with continuation in 4(1). doi:10.1300/J082v03n04_07. ISSN 0091-8369. PMID 353189.
• Panopticon; or, the Inspection-House (1787).
• Defence of Usury (1787). Fourth edition – London: Payne and Foss, 1818.
  • This publication comprises a collection of thirteen letters directed to Adam Smith.
• Essay on Political Tactics. London: T. Payne, 1791.
• Anarchical Fallacies; Being an Examination of the Declarations of Rights Issued During the French Revolution (1796).
  • This work constitutes a critique of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, enacted during the French Revolution, and an analysis of the natural rights philosophy upon which it was founded.
• French: Traités de Législation Civile et Pénale, lit. 'Treatises on Civil and Penal Legislation'. Edited and translated into French by Étienne Dumont, 1802. Third edition – Paris: Rey et Gravier, Libraire, 1830 – Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3.
• The French edition, titled Théorie des Peines et des Récompenses, literally 'Theory of Punishments and Rewards', was edited and translated into French by Étienne Dumont in 1811. A third edition was published in Paris by Bossange Frères, Libraire, in 1825, comprising two volumes.
• The first English edition was published in two volumes: Volume 1, The Rationale of Punishment, was released in London by Robert Heward in 1830; Volume 2, The Rationale of Reward, was published in London by John and H. L. Hunt in 1825.
• Notably, the English volumes were published in an order inverse to that of their French language counterparts.

Notes

a^ A superior digital scan is accessible via HeinOnline (subscription may be required or content may be available in libraries).

Posthumous Publications

Upon his demise, Bentham bequeathed an extensive collection of manuscripts, estimated to comprise 30 million words. These are predominantly housed within University College London's Special Collections (c. 60,000 manuscript folios) and the British Library (c. 15,000 folios). Additionally, University College London maintains a collection of approximately 500 books either authored by, concerning, or formerly owned by Jeremy Bentham.

Bowring (1838–1843)

John Bowring, a young radical writer and close associate of Bentham, was designated as his literary executor, tasked with compiling a comprehensive edition of his works. This collection was subsequently published in 11 volumes between 1838 and 1843. Notably, Bowring's edition relied heavily on previously published materials, such as those by Dumont, rather than Bentham's original manuscripts, and deliberately excluded Bentham's writings on religious topics. Upon its initial release, the Edinburgh Review characterized the edition as "incomplete, incorrect and ill-arranged," and it has since faced persistent criticism for both its omissions and factual inaccuracies. Furthermore, Sir Leslie Stephen famously deemed Bowring's biographical account of Bentham, featured in volumes 10 and 11, "one of the worst biographies in the language." Despite these criticisms, Bowring's compilation served as the authoritative edition for the majority of Bentham's works for over a century and remains only partially superseded. It notably contains significant contributions to international relations, such as Bentham's "A Plan for an Universal and Perpetual Peace," composed between 1786 and 1789, which constitutes Part IV of the "Principles of International Law."

Stark (1952–1954)

Between 1952 and 1954, Werner Stark produced a three-volume collection titled Jeremy Bentham's Economic Writings, aiming to consolidate all of Bentham's economic treatises, encompassing both published and previously unpublished content. While recognized as a substantial scholarly endeavor, this work is widely regarded by academics as containing numerous detailed inaccuracies. Consequently, a revised edition of Bentham's economic writings, now retitled Writings on Political Economy, is currently being prepared for publication by the Bentham Project.

Bentham Project (1968–present)

In 1959, the Bentham Committee was formed under the patronage of University College London, with the objective of creating a definitive scholarly edition of Bentham's complete works. The committee subsequently established the Bentham Project to execute this task, leading to the publication of the inaugural volume of The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham in 1968. The ongoing Collected Works series is making available numerous previously unpublished works and significantly enhanced versions of texts that had been published earlier. As of now, 38 volumes have been released, with the complete edition anticipated to comprise 80 volumes. The 1970 volume, Of Laws in General, was identified as containing numerous errors and has since been superseded by Of the Limits of the Penal Branch of Jurisprudence, published in 2010. In 2017, UCL Press re-released Volumes 1–5 under an open-access license.

To facilitate this extensive undertaking, the Bentham papers housed at UCL are undergoing digitization through a crowdsourced transcription initiative. "Transcribe Bentham" is a collaborative crowdsourcing project focused on manuscript transcription, managed by University College London's Bentham Project in conjunction with the UCL Centre for Digital Humanities, UCL Library Services, UCL Learning and Media Services, the University of London Computer Centre, and the broader online community. Initiated in September 2010, the project provides free access to digital images of UCL's extensive Bentham Papers collection, comprising approximately 60,000 manuscript folios, through a custom-designed transcription interface. This initiative aims to engage the public and enlist volunteers to assist in transcribing the historical documents. Transcripts generated by volunteers will contribute directly to the Bentham Project's development of the new edition of The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham. These transcripts will also be uploaded to UCL's digital Bentham Papers repository, thereby expanding public access to the collection and ensuring its enduring preservation. Manuscripts can be viewed and transcribed by registering for a transcriber account at the Transcription Desk.

A free and adaptable textual search capability for the entire Bentham Papers collection is now available via an experimental handwritten text image indexing and search system. This system was developed by the PRHLT research center as part of the READ project.

List of animal rights advocates

• List of animal rights advocates
• List of civil rights leaders
• List of liberal theorists
• Philosophy of happiness – Philosophical theory
• Rule according to higher law – Belief that universal principles of morality override unjust laws
• Rule of law – Political situation in which everyone is subject to the law

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

• Portraits of Jeremy Bentham are housed at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
• Works by Jeremy Bentham are available through Project Gutenberg.
• A collection of works by or concerning Jeremy Bentham is available through the Internet Archive.
• Jeremy Bentham's works are accessible via LibriVox, which provides public domain audiobooks.
• The Transcribe Bentham initiative is managed by the Bentham Project.
• The curious case of Jeremy Bentham.
• A compilation of categorized links pertaining to Jeremy Bentham.
• The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, archived on 12 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine, provides an extensive biographical reference for Bentham.
• A play-reading titled "Jeremy Bentham at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2007," archived on 30 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine, explores the life and legacy of Jeremy Bentham.
• A biographical profile of Jeremy Bentham, which includes notable quotations.
• The Bentham Book Collection is housed at University College London.
• The Bentham Papers are located at University College London.