Jeremy Bentham Bio
By
Michael Johnson
Darryl Sanborn
Business Ethics
04/05/06
Michael Johnson
Darryl Sanborn
Business Ethics
04/05/06
Jeremy Bentham Bio Jeremy Bentham was born on Feb. 15, 1748, in Houndsditch England. [1] His father was Jeremiah Bentham and his mother was Alicia Grove. Jeremy was actual born as “Jeremiah” as it was a family name handed down from his grandfather to his father and then to him. His name was shortened to the “cool” version of Jeremy later. His father was a lawyer and also a real estate investor. He made a good sum of money in the real estate ventures. His mother was the daughter of a shop keeper in Andover. This caused some friction. Jeremy’s grandparents thought his dad should have married someone with a bigger dowry and higher social status. Jeremy was a very bright and intelligent child. He learned Latin, Greek, and French before he was reached the age of 10. He was an avid reader and read various diverse books during his childhood. He attended high school at Westminster School, London. He then attended Queen's College Oxford (1755-1760), and took his degree in 1763 at the age of 15. He studied at Lincoln's Inn, receiving a Master of Arts degree in 1766. The following year he was called to the bar.
His experiences at college was less than good. He was repelled the religious teachings and the Thirty-nine Articles, the classical curriculum. He also abhorred the snobbery and bullying by both students and faculty. [2] His disgust turned to outright rebellion when he began to read law at Lincoln’s Inn, in 1766. This marked a turning point in Jeremy’s life and his direction in life. He wrote several papers and books during his life. He just never got around to publishing them. He often said that they needed polishing and finishing before he would let the works go public. So most of his works were published years after his death. Prison reform was a concern of his for several years, and he solicited and received charters and money from the King for a model prison, called the "Panopticon." Bentham said his model prison failed due to political rivalry and royal envy from King George III. He wrote thousands of pages addressing the subject. [3] Jeremy believed that he could take a scientific approach to applying ethics and morality to business. He designed his model around scientific principles. He was ahead of his time in his