Jeremy Bentham and His Contribution to Law

Jeremy Bentham was a living legal phenomenon of 18th century England. He was a person with inherent capacity to study, read, criticize, reinvent and codify law to the last extent in the entire English legal history of the times. Bentham was an outstanding political−legal reformer and jurist of England who marked the start of a new era in the history of legal thought in England with his critically acclaimed philosophy and well−known statement that “the greatest happiness of the greatest number”.

Life and Career (1748 −1832)

Jeremy Bentham was a legendary legal critic of English law as he was deeply frustrated with its complexities from the time of his birth as he was born to the most prominent attorney of 18th century’s England and his interactions with the law of the land started at the age of three.

Though, Jeremy had several law degrees to his credit but he always found himself against the prevalent notions of law owing to its inherent fallacies, therefore, Bentham decided to reform the English legal system to make it more subtle and comprehensible, instead of practicing at the bar.

Moreover, Bentham was not just a legal reformer but also a social reformer and philosopher who worked and wrote extensively on issues like economic freedom, sexual equality, natural law, individualism, freedom of expression, separation of church and state, and Doctrine of Utilitarianism.

Individualism

Bentham was an individualist as he found the existence of individuals at the core of humanity, society and state. He also argued that the function of law is to emancipate an individual from the bondage and restraints upon his freedom. He supported the idea of laissez−faire which meant minimum interference of the state in the economic activities of individuals.

Utilitarianism

Bentham is the founding father of theory of modern utilitarianism as he reinvented the concept from its conventional dynamics and based it on the principles of pain and pleasure. Moreover , his theory of utilitarianism is best known and understood through his distinguished phrase “greatest happiness of the greatest number”.

It means that, according to Bentham, the underlying objective of human existence is to codify those laws and promote those human conducts which aim at providing greatest happiness to maximum people at large as to ensure pleasure and reduce pain.

Codification of Law and Reforms

Bentham was a talented lawyer having the capacity and acumen of a jurist and a logician to analyze the law in the most critical method with rationality. While studying the law as a student, Bentham found that the law of England was not a properly codified and developed law with any guiding principle behind them; instead, it was grown out of customs and practices.

Moreover, Bentham believed that the right aim of legislation is the carrying out of the principle of utility, meaning thereby, promoting the happiness of the society at large by attaining the four major goals of subsistence; abundance; equality; and security for the citizens.

Therefore, he became a tireless reformer who not only made a structural transformation by classification and analysis but also created several substantive changes in the law through codification and legislation, consequently, emerged as a champion of codified law and of English law reform of the century.

Further, owing to Bentham’s remarkable contribution to the legal philosophy and legislation including development of legal positivism and encouragement to study legal theory as a science through scientific methods of experimenting and reasoning, his period is known as “Benthamite era” in the legal history of England.

Analytical Jurisprudence

Bentham was the first theorist who emerged as a staunch critic of natural law in the 18th century through his writings because before that, natural law was widely accepted and reiterated by scholars across the national frontiers. However, Bentham remarked a shift and co−related law with sovereignty and utility instead of natural law.

Likewise, Bentham holds that law should be accepted as it is instead of what it ought to be or what it should be, thus, he emphasized on the reasoning and realities of law instead of morality. Additionally, he discarded the superiority of natural law by advocating the supremacy of law made by sovereign in the interest of the general good of people. He expounded the concept of positive law which commanded citizens to obey the law as it is or face legal sanctions in the event of disobedience.

Therefore, many scholars believe that it was Bentham, not Austin, who was the progenitor of analytical jurisprudence.

Bentham’s Thesis

Bentham’s Thesis

• An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation

• A Fragment on Government

Conclusion

Jeremy Bentham was a profound thinker, an acute social critic and a staunch law−reformist who not only dealt with the theoretical conceptualizations of law as prevalent in the England of his times but also codified the law in an attempt to make reforms in the entire English legal system of the country. Additionally, Bentham propounded his principle of utility with lines of positive law and analytical jurisprudence while disregarding the prevailing notions of natural law. Lastly, he was one of the exceptional figures in nature jurisprudence who wrote and worked extensively for social reforms while also promoting the idea of individuals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who was Jeremy Bentham?

Ans: Jeremy Bentham (1748−1832) was an English philosopher, jurist, social reformer, and founder of utilitarianism. He is known for his contributions to ethics, political philosophy, and legal theory.

Q: What is Jeremy Bentham best known for?

Ans: Jeremy Bentham is best known for his development of utilitarianism, a moral theory that focuses on maximizing happiness and minimizing suffering. He also made significant contributions to legal positivism and social reform.

Q: What is the reason behind the multi−dimensional fame of Jeremy Bentham?

Ans: Jeremy Bentham was a multi−dimensional personality who was not just a legal philosopher and theorist who write thesis but was also a man of the era who worked tirelessly to achieve his objective of reforming the social structure and legal system of England.

Q: Was Bentham an aspiration for his disciples?

Ans: James Mill, John Stuart Mill, John Austin and John Neal were the most famous Benthamite Disciples who not only learnt from the master but also taken ahead their learnings by further developing Bentham’s ideas such as individualism, economic freedom, individual liberty, utilitarianism, analytical jurisprudence.

Q: How did Jeremy Bentham perceive his idea of Utilitarianism?

Ans: According to Bentham, the prime objective of legislation is to promote the happiness of the maximum number of people and to ensure sustenance of pleasure and avoidance of pain. He believed that law is made by the sovereign who is elected by the people for their security therefore, the law should aim to the general well−being of the society at large instead of a few individuals.

Q: How did Bentham view the relationship between law and morality?

Ans: Bentham believed in a separation between law and morality. He argued that laws should be based on the principle of utility, rather than subjective moral judgments, and that they should aim to promote the greatest overall happiness.

Q: What is Bentham's principle of the "greatest happiness of the greatest number"?

Ans: Bentham's principle states that the morality or utility of an acti on should be judged by its ability to produce the greatest amount of for the greatest number of people. happiness

Q: How did Bentham contribute to legal philosophy?

Ans: Bentham was a proponent of legal positivism, emphasizing that laws should be clear, predictable, and based on the principle of utility. His work laid the foundation for modern utilitarian legal theories.

Q: What is Bentham's concept of the "felicific calculus"?

Ans: Bentham introduced the idea of the "felicific calculus," a method for calculating the moral value of actions by assessing their impact on pleasure and pain in terms of intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, and more.

Q: What is the "Panopticon" concept associated with Bentham?

Ans: The Panopticon was a proposed architectural design by Bentham for a prison or institution in which inmates could be observed by a single watchman without knowing if they were being watched. This design aimed to improve surveillance and control.

Q: What is Bentham's lasting legacy?

Ans: Bentham's legacy lies in his significant impact on utilitarian philosophy, legal theory, and social reform. His ideas have inspired generations of thinkers to consider the balance between individual and collective well−being in various aspects of human life.