Preview

Jeremy Bentham Influence on Future

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1276 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Jeremy Bentham Influence on Future
Essay on Jeremy Bentham’s influence
Jeremy Bentham was born in 1748 in London, England. He was a utilitarianist, which is the idea that the right judgment is the judgment that brings the most happiness. Also an Atheist, Bentham was seen as the person who popularized utilitarianism. Bentham believed we could quantify or measure pleasure. He helped found the London College, in which his body was embalmed and used as a reminder of himself, and wrote many books on utilitarianism and found the best way to influence a decision was through pamphleteering. He died in 1832 in England. Even though he died, Jeremy Bentham left a legacy behind him. His ideas are still relevant many years after his death. Jeremy Bentham’s ideas changed the political layout of governments, helped revolutionize prisons, and helped fuel the fight for human rights.
Jeremy Bentham’s ideas changed the political layout of not only England but also America. Bentham in agreement with transparency said, “Secrecy, being an instrument of conspiracy ought never to be the system of a regular government.” (Living, philosophy Paragraph 2) Bentham advocated transparency to as many people as possible so that governments would make decisions in general interest. (Philanthropy web, paragraph 9) His views on transparency were seen as a change from the ways of the aristocratic rule. The aristocratic rule was a type of government. The aristocrats were the wealthy officials who made all the decisions. The citizens had no idea about the decisions being made and thus thee aristocrats could do anything they wanted. Bentham thought, “It is in vain to talk to the community without understanding the interest of the individual.” (Warburton, 122) He believed that the legal practice of England was corrupted. He mainly worked on plans for social reform. He carried out his campaign through pamphleteering. Two days after his death, parliament passed a reform bill. This reform bill changed aristocratic rule into majority rule.



Cited: Brackins, Eric. “Jeremy Bentham.” Jeremy Bentham philosopher. n.p., n.d. web. 11 Dec. 2012 Duignan, Brian. The 100 Most Influential Philosophers of All Time. New York, NY: Britannica Educational Pub. in Association with Rosen Educational Services, 2010. Print. “Famous philosophers: What did Jeremy Bentham believe?” hub Pages.n.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012 “Jeremy Bentham.” Jeremy Bentham: his life. n.p., n.d. Web. 02 dec.2012 "Jeremy Bentham Philosopher, Living Philosophy, Edinburgh, Scotland UK." Jeremy Bentham Philosopher. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. McGreal, Ian Philip. Great Thinkers of the Western World: The Major Ideas and Classic Works of More than 100 Outstanding Western Philosophers, Physical and Social Scientists, Psychologists, Religious Writers, and Theologians. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992. Print. Strangroom, Jeremy. Little Book of Big Ideas. Auckland, N.Z.: David Bateman, 2007. Print. Warburton, Nigel. A Little History of Philosophy. New Haven: Yale UP, 2011. Print.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The implementation guidance in ASC 205-20-55 provides a model for evaluating the two criteria in…

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the epic, The Odyssey, by Homer, there are many themes introduced in the first several books including manhood and loyalty. The first several books show us these themes through the hero entering the journey and realizing morals and ideas throughout the introduction.By doing this,themes and main points are revealed and are easier to identify for the rest of the story, and the characters, plot, and actions introduced in the first several books further foreshadows future later in the story.In this way, Homer leads a path that the reader can predict the theme through the first several books by indentifying those aspects and elements of the epic.…

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bentham developed the idea of utilitarianism and that we all like pleasure and dislike pain. The idea of utilitarianism is we focused on…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Andy Goldsworthy - Paper

    • 1767 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Andy Goldsworthy - Philosophy. (n.d.). University of Cincinnati, UC Blue Ash. Retrieved May 1, 2012, from http://www.ucblueash.edu/artcomm/web/w2005_2006/maria_Goldsworthy/philosophy.html…

    • 1767 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Principles of Philosophy.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. n.d.. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.…

    • 1952 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Individual Project Unit 5

    • 797 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Solomon, R.C. & Higgins, K.M. (2015). The Big Question: A Short Introduction to Philosophy (9th ed.) [Online version]. Retrieved from AIU Online Virtual Campus. Introduction to Philosophy: PHIL201-1503A-03 website.…

    • 797 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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Utilitarianism, the theory that actions are right if they useful for the majority, the greatest happiness and pleasure for the greatest and majority of people. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was an English moral philosopher concerned with social reform, Bentham wanted people to seek pleasure and avoid pain. On the other hand John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) who was a great admirer of Bentham; however, he believed in the principle of utility and the idea that please should be ranked according to quality not quantity. For example: eating a mars bar is a poorer pleasure compared to listening to poetry. Mill believing in pleasures of the mind is greater than pleasures of the body (eating). Within this essay I shall be discussing the different views of Bentham and Mill and how their theories are strengths for the utilitarian system.…

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Philosophy Fifth Edition. John Perry, Michael Bratman, John Martin Fischer. Oxford University Press. 2010. )…

    • 1087 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    For this assignment, you will compose a ten-page research paper on a great thinker chosen from the attached list. There are three components to this assignment. The first is that you will write about the major thought, idea, or system of belief for which the great thinker was known. Secondly, you will write about two or three ways in which the teachings of the great thinker influenced history. Thirdly, you will provide a thoughtful analysis of at least one idea touted by the great thinker. You will need to research and properly document eight to ten scholarly sources using the MLA standard for citation. In addition to writing the paper, you will be learning and implementing a way to organize your research and writing. You will receive two grades for this assignment: one for the final paper and one for the research and writing prep work.…

    • 1390 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Philosophy this far, we’ve covered many topics. In highlighting Philosophy, Wisdom, and the quote, “ The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living”, I will express the knowledge and insight I’ve taken away from Unit 1. This embodies one of the many examples of the concepts I will explain: “Too often, we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of the thought” (JFK).…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Locke should be one of the one’s that have the most impact on the Enlightenment because he proclaimed that men are free by nature and should not be subject to a monarchy. In Locke’s “Two Treatises of Government,” he strongly defends that men are free and equal and that they have rights such rights like life, liberty, and property that are independent of any particular laws of the society and that no one can take these rights away from you. Locke thought that all people were reasonable and moral. He also feels that when the government violates these rights that the people have a right to legitimately rebel.…

    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Allegory of the Cave

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the parable, Plato describes a group of prisoners chained in a dark cave. One of the prisoners is released and was forced to climb upward out of the cave into the distant light. Plato then concludes that the prison is the world we see in our eyes; the fire is the sun; and the climb upward is the journey of the mind towards knowledge (Philosophy: Q&T, p.9).…

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hicks, Stephen R.C. "Rand, Ayn Alissa [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 28 Jan. 2002. Rockford College. 2 Dec. 2011 .…

    • 1365 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Buddhism and Aristotle

    • 859 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Kessler, Gary E. Voices of Wisdom: A Multicultural Philosophy Reader. 8th. Boston, MA 02210: California State University, Bakersfield, 2010. 1-638. Print.…

    • 859 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics