Preview

Jeremy Bentham

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
750 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham was born in London in 1748. The son of a lawyer and a scholar, Bentham attended Queen 's College, Oxford at the age of twelve and went on to Lincoln 's Inn at the age of fifteen. Bentham did not enjoy making public speeches and therefore left Lincoln Inn to concentrate on his writing. His father gave Bentham £90 annually from which Bentham was able to produced a series of books on philosophy, economics and politics. Bentham 's family was very conservative and for the first part of his life, Bentham shared their political views. After reading the works of Joseph Priestley and David Hume, Bentham 's views changed. In 1798, Bentham wrote “Principles of International Law.” He argued that universal peace could only be accomplished by attaining European Unity. He believed that a form of European government would be able to apply ideas such as the liberty of the press, and free trade. In “Catechism of Reformers”, a literary work published in 1809, Bentham pointed out that the law of libel was so ambiguous that judges and officials were able to use it for self-interests instead of the best interest of the case. Bentham also said that officials could use the law to punish anyone for speaking against or the "hurting the feelings" of the ruling class. Bentham 's most specific aspects of his ideas and objectives on political democracy were published in his book “Constitutional Code” in 1830. Bentham debated that political reform should be governed by the principle to benefit the happiness of the people affected by it. Bentham was in favor of universal suffrage, annual parliaments and vote by elections. According to Bentham there should be no monarchy, House of Lords, or established church. The book also contained Bentham 's view that women, as well as men, should be given the vote. Bentham also wrote about how government should be organized. He proposed regulations that would ensure the attendance of members of the House of Commons. Government officials


References: Bentham, Jeremy. An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. New York: Hafner Pub., 1948. Web. "UCL BENTHAM PROJECT." Who Was Jeremy Bentham? Web. 06 Apr. 2013. Kreis, Steven. "Jeremy Bentham, 1748-1832." Jeremy Bentham, 1748-1832. Apr. 2000. Web. 06 Apr. 2013.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Declaration of Independence written in 1776, was and still is an important document in American history. The declaration was primarily written by Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was a supporter of John Locke, clearly evident in his use of Locke’s idea of natural rights, after minimal modifications. Most founders were in agreement to Locke’s ideas. Such as his idea of unalienable rights, which are life, liberty and property. In the Declaration of Independence they are stated as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Locke also believed in a social contract theory, which is an agreement between the government and its people that the established government should protect the rights of the people, and if it does not do so the people have the right to abolish the government and create a new one. “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government” (Declaration). The founder’s beliefs were heavily influenced by the enlightenment period but Locke’s beliefs and ideals are most evident in the Declaration of Independence.…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Social Responsibility

    • 1604 Words
    • 7 Pages

    References: Arthur, J., & Scalet, S. (2009). Morality and Moral Controversies (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson, Prentice Hall.…

    • 1604 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ursury Laws

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Shafer-Landau, R. (2012). The fundamentals of ethics. (2nd ed., p. G-6). New York: Oxford University Press.…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    References: Rachels, J. & Rachels, S. (2012). The Elements of Moral Philosophy (7th Ed.).New York, New York. Mc Graw Hill Companies, Inc.…

    • 1278 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Locke’s ideas may have contributed to the Glorious Revolution in England, which started the idea of a Parliamentary government; which would eventually succeed monarchies. “The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it… no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions,” (John Locke, Second Treatise of Government, Chapter II, Article 6). Jefferson became more in tune with Locke’s writings as the British exerted more control over the Colonies and increased taxes, “taxation without representation.” Based on that, the Founding Father’s decided to organize and form an independent country that was self-governing with the rights of its citizens at the forefront. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” (Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence, Article 2). Is evident through the Declaration of Independence and Constitution that the most important thing to Jefferson and the Founding Fathers was individual rights and freedom. The Articles of Confederation gave power to each state independently but did not set forth a central governing body overall. This flaw leads to the creation of America’s current Constitution, which established the laws that…

    • 1650 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    References: Fuller, Lon L. (1975). The Morality of Law. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. (p. 159)…

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Court Reflection

    • 1155 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Gunning, J., & Holm, S. (2005). Ethics, law, and society (4th ed.). England: Ashgate Pty Ltd.…

    • 1155 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unit 6 Assignment

    • 834 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Source: Fuller, L. (1975). The morality of law. (p. 159). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.…

    • 834 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He explained the principle of checks and balances to limit government power. He favored representative government and a rule of law. He denounced tyranny. He requested that when government violates individual rights, people may legitimately rebel. These perspectives were most fully developed in Locke’s famous Second Treatise Concerning Civil Government, and they were so radical that he never dared sign his name to it. He acknowledged authorship only in his will. Locke’s writings did much to inspire the libertarian ideals of the American Revolution From Locke, James Madison drew his most fundamental principles of liberty and government. Locke’s writings were part of Benjamin Franklin’s self-education, and John Adams believed that both girls and boys should learn about Locke. The French philosopher Voltaire called Locke “the man of the greatest…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Immediately following the start of the French Revolution the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham became a large activist in support of the liberal movement. He had an urge for positive social engineering and proposed sophisticated plans in helping convicted criminals be rehabilitated instead of executed. Bentham soon joined the antislavery campaign of England. His liberal views and the motivation of the masses lead the British House of Lords to abolish slavery in England and all of its colonies. By doing this, Britain showed the world they can be a liberal nation because they gave all their citizens natural rights and supported drastic change within their society (Hunt 716).…

    • 1085 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Partridge, Ernest. "Chapter Four: A Master of Morality." Conscience of a Progressive. 19 Apr. 2007 <http://gadfly.igc.org/progressive/4-master.htm>.…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Justice with Michel Sandel

    • 2049 Words
    • 9 Pages

    (n.d.). Justice with Michael Sandel - Online Harvard Course Exploring Justice, Equality, Democracy, and Citizenship. Retrieved June 13, 2012, from http://www.justiceharvard.org/resources/jeremy-bentham-principles-of-morals-and-legislation-1780/…

    • 2049 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Mill vs. Bentham

    • 2799 Words
    • 12 Pages

    The Cambridge International Dictionary of English defines utilitarianism as "the system of thought which states that the best action or decision in a particular situation is the one which most benefits the most people". This is the main idea of the system of thought and it is from this the beliefs and opinions of John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873), Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832) and other early utilitarians were developed. Jeremy Bentham, a friend of J. S. Mill's father and the mentor of J. S. Mill, is usually considered the founder of British utilitarianism. J. S. Mill adapted Bentham's ideas and philosophies to meet the criticism utilitarianism encountered in Victorian times, expressing his version in the essays Utilitarianism (1861) and On Liberty (1859). Although the differences between the ideas of Bentham and Mill are very few, Mill's adjustments are important and greatly alter the basic foundations of the system.…

    • 2799 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    He argued that all people were born equal with the natural rights of life, liberty, and property. He stated that the reason for government was to protect peoples natural rights. In his book Two Treatises on Government, he described the fairness of law. A quote from his book was “Those who are united into one body, and have a common established law and judicature (court system) to appeal to, with authority to decide controversies between them, and punish offenders, are in civil society one another…” Locke believed if a government failed to protect its citizens natural rights, then they had the right to overthrow it. His beliefs later became a foundation for modern democracy and his ideas inspired later revolutionaries in Europe and the…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    David Beckham

    • 2856 Words
    • 12 Pages

    With the formulas above, we try to justify the returns of the football clubs under different environment. From the calculations, we can see the change of revenue for the football clubs between fixed costs at different levels of market size.…

    • 2856 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics