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PHILOSOPHER

Jeremy Bentham

1748 - 1832

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Jeremy Bentham (; 4 February 1747/8 O.S. [15 February 1748 N.S.] – 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 individual and economic freedoms, the separation of church and state, freedom of expression, equal rights for women, the right to divorce, and (in an unpublished essay) the decriminalising of homosexual acts. He called for the abolition of slavery, capital punishment, and physical punishment, including that of children. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Jeremy Bentham has received more than 4,555,210 page views. His biography is available in 74 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 71 in 2019). Jeremy Bentham is the 78th most popular philosopher (down from 73rd in 2019), the 81st most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 79th in 2019) and the 8th most popular British Philosopher.

Jeremy Bentham is most famous for his theory of utilitarianism, which is the idea that the moral worth of an action is based on its usefulness in increasing pleasure and decreasing pain.

Memorability Metrics

  • 4.6M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 75.89

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 74

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 10.31

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.83

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

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Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Jeremy Bentham ranks 78 out of 1,081Before him are Epictetus, William of Ockham, Xenophanes, Jürgen Habermas, Ibn Arabi, and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling. After him are Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Roger Bacon, Jean Bodin, Nicholas of Cusa, Nagarjuna, and Gregory of Nazianzus.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1748, Jeremy Bentham ranks 2Before him is Jacques-Louis David. After him are Olympe de Gouges, Charles IV of Spain, Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, Charles XIII of Sweden, Adam Weishaupt, Claude Louis Berthollet, William V, Prince of Orange, Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, Christian Gottlob Neefe, and Petar I Petrović-Njegoš. Among people deceased in 1832, Jeremy Bentham ranks 4Before him are Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Napoleon II, and Jean-François Champollion. After him are Walter Scott, Évariste Galois, Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, Georges Cuvier, Jean-Baptiste Say, Muzio Clementi, Rasmus Rask, and Princess Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Others Born in 1748

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Others Deceased in 1832

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Jeremy Bentham ranks 81 out of 7,765Before him are Edward II of England (1284), William of Ockham (1285), Harold Harefoot (1016), John Dee (1527), David Bowie (1947), and Mary Shelley (1797). After him are Roger Moore (1927), Maggie Smith (1934), Elton John (1947), Edward Heath (1916), Edward I of England (1239), and Edward V of England (1470).

Among PHILOSOPHERS In United Kingdom

Among philosophers born in United Kingdom, Jeremy Bentham ranks 8Before him are Francis Bacon (1561), Thomas Hobbes (1588), David Hume (1711), Thomas More (1478), Herbert Spencer (1820), and William of Ockham (1285). After him are Roger Bacon (1220), Joseph Priestley (1733), John Venn (1834), Duns Scotus (1265), John Wycliffe (1324), and Pelagius (360).