Jeremy Bentham

British philosopher, jurist, and social reformer (1748–1832)

In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the greatest good for the greatest number. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different characterizations, the basic idea that underpins them all is, in some sense, to maximize utility, which is often defined in terms of well-being or related concepts. For instance, Jeremy Bentham, the founder of utilitarianism, described utility as the capaci

thumb|This plan of Jeremy Bentham's panopticon prison was drawn by Willey Reveley in 1791. The panopticon is a design of institutional building with an inbuilt system of control, originated by the English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century. The concept is to allow all prisoners of an institution to be observed by a single prison officer, without the inmates knowing whether or not they are being watched.

British mechanical engineer and naval architect

intro to the Principles of Morals and Legislation

Official organ of the Philosophical Radicals