Jeremy Bentham
1748–1832
Nationality: English
Historical Period: The 19th Century
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) trained as a lawyer and founded the early 19th century school of political thought known as “Benthamism” later called utilitarianism - based on the idea that governments should act so as to promote “the greatest good of the greatest number” of people.
He spent much of his life attempting to drawn up an ideal Constitutional Code, but he was also active in parliamentary reform, education, and prison reform. He influenced the thinking of James Mill and his son John Stuart Mill. [The image comes from “The Warren J. Samuels Portrait Collection at Duke University.”]
Bentham featured as the February 2021 OLL Birthday. Read it here
- Author: British Moralists vol. 1
- Author: Defence of Usury
- Author: An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
- Author: A Protest against Law-Taxes
- Author: Works of Jeremy Bentham, 11 vols.
- Author: The Works of Jeremy Bentham, vol. 1
- Author: The Works of Jeremy Bentham, vol. 2
- Author: The Works of Jeremy Bentham, vol. 3
- Author: The Works of Jeremy Bentham, vol. 4
- Author: The Works of Jeremy Bentham, vol. 5 (Scotch Reform, Real Property, Codification Petitions)
- Author: The Works of Jeremy Bentham, vol. 6
- Author: The Works of Jeremy Bentham, vol. 7 (Rationale of Judicial Evidence Part 2)
- Author: The Works of Jeremy Bentham, vol. 8
- Author: The Works of Jeremy Bentham, vol. 9 (Constitutional Code)
- Author: The Works of Jeremy Bentham, vol. 10 (Memoirs Part I and Correspondence)
- Author: The Works of Jeremy Bentham, vol. 11 (Memoirs of Bentham Part II and Analytical Index)