BIOGRAPHY: Jeremy Bentham and his contribution to the study of Ethics

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Biography of Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham, a British philosopher, jurist and political theorist was born on February 15, 1748 in Red Lion Street, Houndsditch (Kreis). His great grandfather was a successful pawnbroker and lawyer in London. Bentham, the son of a lawyer was an avid reader and as a result he came to be known as the “philosopher.” He was able to learn French, Latin and Greek before attaining the age of ten (Kreis). He attended Westminster School from 1755 to 1760. On 28th of June, 1760, he joined Queen’s College Oxford. He got his degree of B.A. at the age of 16, in the year 1763. He then studied at Lincoln’s Inn where he got his Master’s degree in 1766. Just like his father and grandfather, he pursued a career in law by joining the bar in 1767 (Kreis).  However, Bentham was not so much interested in formal education; he argued that insincerity was the only certain outcome of going through an English University Education. He lost interest in the practice of law and instead preferred to study physical science and write papers on legal reform (Kreis). After the death of his father in 1792, he retired from public life and became dedicated to his writing. In 1814 he bought a mansion and over the years it became a centre of English intellectual life. In the year 1776, he published his work on “Fragment on Government” which severely criticized the interpretations of common English Law by Sir William Blackstone. He attacked the theory by Blackstone that social contract had a legal basis and argued that laws should actual...