Jeremy Bentham

Life

• Born: February 15, 1748, in London, England
• Education:
• Queen's College, Oxford (BA 1763, MA 1766)
• Lincoln's Inn (legal training, called to the bar 1769)
• Career Highlights:
• Legal reformer and political philosopher
• Founded Westminster Review (1823) as platform for utilitarian ideas
• Designed the Panopticon prison model (1791)
• Mentor to James Mill and other reformers
• Death: June 6, 1832, in London, England

People Who Influenced Their Thought

• John Locke: Social contract and empiricism foundations
• David Hume: Utility concept development
• Claude-Adrien Helvétius: Happiness as moral standard
• Joseph Priestley: "Greatest happiness" principle formulation

Main Ideas and Publications

• An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789):
• Utilitarianism foundation ("greatest happiness principle")
• Felicific calculus framework
• Legal Reform Proposals: Codification and rationalization of laws
• Panopticon Design: Institutional surveillance model
• Constitutional Code: Democratic governance blueprints

Controversies

• Hedonic Calculus: Criticized as overly reductionist
• Rights Critique: Opposition to natural rights theory
• Prison Design: Ethical concerns about surveillance society
• Imperialism: Utilitarian justification for colonial policies

Key People Influenced

• John Stuart Mill: Developed utilitarianism further
• James Mill: Political application of principles
• David Ricardo: Economic policy influence
• Robert Owen: Social reform movements

Legacy

Bentham founded utilitarianism as systematic philosophy and pioneered legal/political reforms based on rational calculation of collective welfare.