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Name:
Jeremy Bentham
Dates:
Born: February 15, 1748 in London, England
Died: June 6, 1832
Pseudonyms
Jeremy Bentham is known to have written under a couple of pseudonyms during his career.
Some letters submitted to the Gazeteer under the name "Irenaeus", for example, and other
letters submitted to the Public Advertiser were signed with "Anti-Machiavel." Bentham also
used the name "Gamaliel Smith, Esq." in 1823 for the work Not Paul, but Jesus.
(Thanks goes to Jack W. Brown, Assitant Professor of Criminal Justice at Missouri Valley
College for this information)
Biography:
Jeremy Bentham was an English philosopher with very radical views on the
nature of political and social organizations. Bentham first developed the philosophy
of modern utilitarianism, a system of ethics based upon the universal hedonistic
premise that the good can be judged based upon whatever produces the greatest
happiness for the largest number of people.
Bentham started with the premise that "Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure." From this he inferred that the morality of actions should be determined by whether they increased pleasure or increased pain. It should be noted that at no point does Bentham describe such actions as "duties." For Bentham, rights and duties are legal constructions, thus the existence of a moral duty would require the existence of a moral lawgiver and he postulated no such entity in his moral theories.
One area where Bentham's moral philosophy had some impact was his influence not only on political philosophy, but also the practical politics of his times. Because of his beliefs, he worked extensively to secure legal reforms, particularly in the realm of criminal law. He was also a strong supporter of democratic reform in the political system, largely because he was disillusioned with the pace of reform at the hands of conservative lawmakers.
Quotes:
The business of government is to promote the happiness of the society by punishing and rewarding. (Bentham, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation)
It was the dread of evil, not the hope of good that first cemented societies together. (Bentham, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation)
There are four distinguishable sources from which pleasure and pain are in use to flow: considered separately, they may be termed the physical, the political, the moral, and the religious: and inasmuch as the pleasures and pains belonging to each of them are capable of giving a binding force to any law or rule of conduct, they may all of them be termed sanctions. (Bentham, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation)
Ethics at large may be defined, the art of directing men's actions to the production of the greatest possible quantity of happiness. (Bentham, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation)
Also Known As: none
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
Related Resources:
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