biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1748–1832)
|
| biography:
| Philosopher, jurist, and social reformer, born in London, UK. He entered Oxford at the age of 12, and was admitted to Lincoln's Inn at 19. He is best known as a proponent of utilitarianism in his pioneering works A Fragment on Government (1776) and Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789), which argued that the proper objective of all conduct and legislation is ‘the greatest happiness of the greatest number’, and developed a ‘hedonic calculus’ to estimate the effects of different actions. He was made an honorary citizen of the French Republic in 1792, and published copiously on penal and social reform, economics, and politics. He also founded University College London, where his clothed skeleton is preserved on public view. |
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