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 …show more content…

Bentham thought, “Everyman to count for one nobody to count for more than one.” (Warburton, 124) Bentham believed we have a duty to promote the pleasure of each individual equally. He also believed that justice requires equality. (McGreal, 306) Bentham was a strong supporter of equality. He thought it all boiled down to pleasure and everybody had to have the same amount of pleasure. He tried to make his idea spread and kept fueling the fire of human rights. The pleasure of an aristocrat had to be equal to the pleasure of a poor worker. (Warburton, 124) Due to his belief in utilitarianism, he was prepared to do anything to make sure everyone was treated equally and justly. Bentham influenced development of liberalism, individual freedom, separation of church and state, equal rights for women, animal rights, and ending slavery all through pamphleteering. (McGreal, 308) Bentham pamphleteered to protect rights and tried to make sure they went into effect. Unfortunately, the effect did not take place right away but due to his connections outside England they finally went into effect.
According to historian Eric Brackins, Bentham did not greatly influence human rights; he was just a supporter of other people’s decisions and took their ideas. Bentham was a fraud; he did not make any significant decisions. He took all his work from previous philosophers and claimed them as his own. (Brackins, paragraph 3) No one actually used what