Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 [O.S. 4 February 1747] – 6 June 1832) was an English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism. Bentham defined as the "fundamental axiom" of his philosophy the principle that "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong". He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism. He advocated for individual and economic freedoms, the separation of church and state, freedom of expression, equal rights for
Edward Bentham philosopher and reformer Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832). In 1717, on the recommendation of Dr. Smalridge, then a fellow of Christ Church college, Bentham was sent away to Oxford where he sang as a chorister at Christ Church, before entering the college as a student on 28 March 1724. He studied under the supervision of John Burton, a cousin who became also a friend. He was listed as a scholar in 1726. Sources commend Bentham's erudition and even temperament. As soon as he had taken his Bachelor of Arts degree he was invited by the principal of Magdalen Hall to become vice-principal