Jeremy Bentham
Modern Ethics · Europe · 1748 to 1832
English reformer who held that the right act is the one that produces the most happiness for the most people.
What it is
Jeremy Bentham (1748 to 1832) was an English jurist, philosopher and political reformer who made the principle of utility, that actions are right when they promote the greatest happiness, the basis of morals and law. He is the philosopher whose name is most closely tied to the foundation of modern utilitarianism, and he was also a tireless proposer of legal and political reforms.
He was born in London in 1748 and studied at Queen's College, Oxford, but never practised law. He wrote at great length on law and government, and the book that sets out his moral theory, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, was printed in 1789. He died in London in 1832. His ideas were taken up by followers such as John Stuart Mill and John Austin.
The main ideas
- Judge by consequences. Actions, laws and institutions are to be judged by their consequences, and the consequences that count are the happiness or unhappiness of everyone affected.
- Pleasure and pain. What ultimately moves us, he held, is pleasure and pain.
- The greatest happiness principle. The right course is the one that produces the greatest happiness.
- A calculus of value. He thought it possible to build a calculus for weighing pleasures and pains, so that choices could be compared, and called it the felicific calculus.
- Suspicion of natural rights. He rejected the idea of natural rights, calling it nonsense on stilts.
- Reform. He proposed a complete body of law built on the principle of utility, wider voting and representative government, and the Panopticon, a model prison in which every prisoner can be watched.
What it looks like in practice
Picture a council deciding whether to build a park or a car park on a vacant lot. A Benthamite would ask who will be affected, how strongly and for how long, and would weigh the pleasures and pains on each side as honestly as possible. This is an illustration of his method, not an example from his books.
Books and moments
- An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (printed in 1789) is his main theoretical work.
- The Panopticon is his design for a prison, which became a lasting image of surveillance.
- The pannomion is his plan for a complete body of law.
Questions and criticism
- Can happiness be added up? His calculus assumes that pleasures and pains can be compared across people. It is fair to ask whether that is possible.
- What about rights? If natural rights are rejected, it is fair to ask what protects a minority when the majority's happiness would be served by overriding them.
- What does the Panopticon stand for? It was a design for a prison in which all prisoners can be watched, and it is fair to ask what such a design says about reform and control.
Close neighbours
The page on John Stuart Mill follows his ideas, and the page on utilitarianism describes the school he founded.
Written by epchē in our own words, and checked against independent sources on 9 October 2026. The sources are listed below.
Philosophies they belong to or are close to
Who they connect to
Influenced
- H. L. A. Hart · He took up Bentham's view that law and morals are distinct, and defended it in a modern form.
- John Stuart Mill · Mill was raised on Bentham's ideas and then refined them.
Reacted against by
- Karl Marx · Marx attacked Bentham's picture of human nature as narrow and shaped by the market.
Other Modern Ethics thinkers
- Immanuel Kant · 1724 to 1804
- John Stuart Mill · 1806 to 1873
- Harriet Taylor Mill · 1807 to 1858
- Henry Sidgwick · 1838 to 1900
- Isaiah Berlin · 1909 to 1997
- Peter Singer · born 1946
- Martha Nussbaum · born 1947
Sources we used
- Jeremy Bentham · Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, read on 9 October 2026
- Bentham, Jeremy · Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, read on 9 October 2026