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Bentham Begins
At the age of 7 Jeremy Bentham enrolled at Westminster school. At the age of 12 Bentham entered Queen's College at Oxford. It was Bentham's unhappy experiences at these schools that are credited with creating his distrust and antipathy towards the Anglican establishment of the time. He saw these places as terrible places to learn as well as places of privilege and prejudice. These experiences would go on to help shape Bentham's philosophy -- which was the source of his advocacy. -
Bentham and Blackstone
In 1763 Bentham attended a series of lectures by the first Vinerian Professor of English Law: William Blackstone. It was during these lectures that Bentham's antipathy towards the english establishment was again stoked. Bentham wasn't convinced by Blackstones theories on governance, and was made more skeptical of the Eng. institutions as a whole. This would again lead Bentham to consider alternatives to the norms on governance, which in turn, led to the development of his utilitarian philosophy. -
Bentham Discovers the Utility Principle
In 1769 Bentham was formally introduced to the utility principle -- the principle that would become the foundation of his utilitarian philosophy, which then influenced much of his advocacy. The works of individuals like Hume and other early utilitarians that would lead Bentham to drop law as a profession and instead dedicate his life to analytical jurisprudence, as well as, social and political reform and improvement. The utilitarian philosophy that was developed would become his advocacy guide. -
Bentham Meets James Mills
In 1808 Bentham met philosopher James Mills. Mills became an indispensable friend and colleague of Bentham. It was on a paper Mills wrote in 1820 that Bentham voiced his support of women's suffrage. Mills would also play a leading role in the direction of Bentham's philosophy, which led Bentham to become the voice of political radicalism in England at the time. Bentham wasn't our traditional gender equality advocate, but his utilitarian views held a space for G.E. due to it's maxims. -
Citations
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/bentham/ Photo: St. Neots Museum https://www.stneotsmuseum.org.uk/articles/jeremy-bentham-philosopher-utilitarian-eccentric/