Biography of Jeremy Bentham
MGMT 368 Blanchat Page 1
Business Ethics
Section E
Biography of Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham was a well known philosopher who was most closely associated with the concept of Utilitarianism. He was a visionary and author of many writings and was an advocate of numerous types of social reform. He was a critic of legal procedures and made it his life’s mission to change it for the better. Jeremy Bentham was born in Spitalfields, London on February 15, 1748. Born to a lawyer father, he began to read studiously and study Latin at a very young age. He went on to study law at Lincoln’s Inn after graduating from Oxford in 1763. He was quick to criticize problems in the legal field and was more determined to change them than to adhere to them for status. After attending a speech given by Sir William Blackstone, Jeremy Bentham “found the grand and fundamental fault of the Commentaries to be Blackstone’s antipathy to reform.” (Duignan 2011). He penned his first book called “A Fragment on Government: Being an Examination of What is Delivered, on the Subject of Government in General, in the Introduction to Sir William Blackstone’s Commentaries” in 1776. He went on to publish economic essays, where he stated that everyone knew what was best for themselves and should follow that path. Bentham wrote that “there was no reason to limit the application of this doctrine in the matter of lending money at interest”. (Duignan 2011) He later authored the “Manual of Political Economy” which suggested the rights and wrongs of the activities of the state. MGMT 368 Blanchat Page 2
Business Ethics
Section E
In 1788, Jeremy Bentham pursued politics by studying the law and the reasonings behind those regulations. His believes in utilitarianism were expanded upon in his book “An Introduction to the
Business Ethics
Section E
Biography of Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham was a well known philosopher who was most closely associated with the concept of Utilitarianism. He was a visionary and author of many writings and was an advocate of numerous types of social reform. He was a critic of legal procedures and made it his life’s mission to change it for the better. Jeremy Bentham was born in Spitalfields, London on February 15, 1748. Born to a lawyer father, he began to read studiously and study Latin at a very young age. He went on to study law at Lincoln’s Inn after graduating from Oxford in 1763. He was quick to criticize problems in the legal field and was more determined to change them than to adhere to them for status. After attending a speech given by Sir William Blackstone, Jeremy Bentham “found the grand and fundamental fault of the Commentaries to be Blackstone’s antipathy to reform.” (Duignan 2011). He penned his first book called “A Fragment on Government: Being an Examination of What is Delivered, on the Subject of Government in General, in the Introduction to Sir William Blackstone’s Commentaries” in 1776. He went on to publish economic essays, where he stated that everyone knew what was best for themselves and should follow that path. Bentham wrote that “there was no reason to limit the application of this doctrine in the matter of lending money at interest”. (Duignan 2011) He later authored the “Manual of Political Economy” which suggested the rights and wrongs of the activities of the state. MGMT 368 Blanchat Page 2
Business Ethics
Section E
In 1788, Jeremy Bentham pursued politics by studying the law and the reasonings behind those regulations. His believes in utilitarianism were expanded upon in his book “An Introduction to the
Cited: Duignan, Brian (January 20, 2011). Jeremy Bentham. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61103/Jeremy-Bentham DeGeorge, Richard T., Business Ethics, 7th ed., New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print Unknown (2009). Who Was Jeremy Bentham?. Retrieved from http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Bentham-Project/who