Difference between revisions of "Jeremy Bentham"

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Jeremy Bentham, a British philosopher, was born February 15th, 1748 in London, England and died June 6th, 1832 also in London.^[1] He contributed many ideas to various fields such as philosophy, economics, public policy, government, and law. Bentham was considered a consequentialist and utilitarian, and is widely regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism. In his contemplation of right and wrong, he explored the concepts of utility and the greatest happiness principle. Although not the first to create those ideas, Bentham's work has greatly influenced thinking in these areas throughout the nineteenth century and up to the present day.^[2]

Life

Jeremy's parent's, Jeremiah Bentham (a practiced attorney) and Alicia Grove (daughter of a shopkeeper), married in 1744, a marriage that received the disapproval of Jeremiah's parents. Four years later Jeremy, named after his father, was born in Red Lion Street, Houndsditch. His brother, Samuel, was born nine years later in 1757.^[3]

From an early age, both brothers were found to be very bright and Jeremy in particular appeared to possess strong mental abilities. His father's friends would refer to Jeremey as a "Philosopher" even at age 5. Jeremy learned Latin grammar and the Greek alphabet as a young child and also picked up the violin before age 7. Around this time, Jeremy also quickly learned French from a tutor and eventually wrote many of his works in the language. Jeremy's parents played a large role in Jeremy's studies and growth as a child as they pushed him to develop his intellectual abilities.^[4]

In 1755, Jeremy was sent to Westminster boarding school, which he found to be unpleasant and felt he didn't learn much. His mother died in 1769, when Jeremy was 11 years old.^[5]

Jeremy remained close with his brother throughout his life. Samuel, like Jeremy, was bright. He became a naval architect, was an inventor of mechanical contrivances, and also became a knight. He died in 1831 just a year before his brother.^[6] Jeremey never married, and he died in 1832 without kids.

Work

Jeremy Bentham's best known work was his book "An Introduction toe the Principles of Morals and Legislation," published in 1789. It contains the important statements that lay the foundations of utilitarian philosophy and pioneer the study of crime and punishment, both of which remain at the heart of contemporary debates in moral and political philosophy, economics, and legal theory.^[7]

Utilitarianism

For Bentham, a right action is one that produces good, or prevents evil. He also believed in psychological hedonism, that the nature of mankind revolves around the experiences of pain and pleasure. The development of his psychological theory was rooted in uncovering the telos of human action. Bentham asserted the the principle of utility 'assumes' the truth of ethical hedonism and constructs a moral 'system' on its 'foundation' with the help of 'reason.'^[8] The moral agent, then has an obligation to maximize overall human happiness. For government, Bentham believed it could most effectively maximize human happiness by concentrating on the community it represents, by making happiness of their citizens a primary concern.

Bentham also acknowledged the important of context. He thought moral agents should promote the interest of others, given the circumstances they may find themselves in. He also recognized that the violation of moral rules might have desirable consequences in some cases. If the benefits of violating a moral rule can be shown, then the t is warranted by the principle of utility.^[9]

Privacy and Information Ethics

Jeremy Bentham gave significant attention to his thoughts on individual privacy. He strongly believed that law was an invasion of privacy and that it should be justified on the ground of necessary utility. This idea also influenced the thinking of John Stuart Mill.^[10]

Bentham also believed transparency was of moral value because it held those in power accountable for their actions. This is the often how we view the role of journalism in modern society. However, He considered both surveillance and transparency to be useful ways of generating understanding and improvements for people's lives, and wanted such transparency to apply to everyone. This was exemplified in his creation of Panopticon, where the prison design would allow any person to safely enter it and be able to see every prisoner in it. This had the advantage of allowing the public to see how prisoner’s were being treated, and made prison guards more accountable.

Bentham's idea's have influenced Floridi's thinking on informational privacy.

References

1. ↑ "Duignan, Brian, and John P. Plamenatz. “Jeremy Bentham : British Philosopher and Economist.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11 Feb. 2019, www.britannica.com.
2. ↑ " Bentham, Jeremy. The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham : An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Edited by J. Burns et al., Clarendon Press, 1996."
3. ↑ "Atkinson, Charles M. Jeremy Bentham : His Life and Work. Methuen & Co., 1905."
4. ↑ "Atkinson, Charles M. Jeremy Bentham : His Life and Work. Methuen & Co., 1905."
5. ↑ "Atkinson, Charles M. Jeremy Bentham : His Life and Work. Methuen & Co., 1905."
6. ↑ "Atkinson, Charles M. Jeremy Bentham : His Life and Work. Methuen & Co., 1905."
7. ↑ "Bentham, Jeremy. The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham : An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Edited by J. Burns et al., Clarendon Press, 1996"
8. ↑ "Bentham, Jeremy. Critical Assessments. Routledge, 1993."
9. ↑ "Bentham, Jeremy. Critical Assessments. Routledge, 1993."
10. ↑ "Barendt, Eric M. “Why Privacy Is Valuable.” Privacy, edited by Eric Barendt, Dartmouth Publishing Company and Ashgate Publishing, 2001, p. 3–9."