--- title: "8 Bentham Quotes by 8 authors" description: "Browse 8 Bentham quotes by 8 authors. Discover the best Bentham sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1c/dale-jamieson-4075_clear_bentham-spent-much-of-his-life-writing-c_479892.jpg" --- > [Bentham spent much of his life writing constitutions and proposing legal reform in the light of his utilitarianism. The evaluation of particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/bentham-spent-much-of-his-life-writing-constitutions-and-proposing/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1c/dale-jamieson-4075_clear_bentham-spent-much-of-his-life-writing-c_479892.jpg) > [“ Jeremy Bentham argued that 'even in the best of times the great mass of citizens will most probably possess few resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-mcquaig/jeremy-bentham-argued-that-even-in-the-best-of-times-the-great-mass/) [Linda McQuaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-mcquaig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be5/linda-mcquaig-38650_bentham_jeremy-bentham-argued-that-even-in-the-b_787591.png) > [“Yet over the last few decades the tables have turned, and Bentham’s vision has been taken far more seriously. People increasingly believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/yet-over-the-last-few-decades-the-tables-have-turned-and-bentham-s/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/yuval-noah-harari-100_happiness_yet-over-the-last-few-decades-the-tables_1126254.jpg) > [“ Bentham was an atheist and in no sense of the word could he be described as a theologian.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-crimmins/bentham-was-an-atheist-and-in-no-sense-of-the-word-could-he-be/) [James E. Crimmins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-crimmins/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/james-e-crimmins-245393_atheism_bentham-was-an-atheist-and-in-no-sense-o_1169456.jpg) > [“To every man of great age - to Sir Wlater Bentham himself - the idea of suicide has once at least been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/to-every-man-of-great-age-to-sir-wlater-bentham-himself-the-idea-of/) [John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/john-galsworthy-4232_bentham_to-every-man-of-great-age-to-sir-wlater_1546187.png) > [“Bentham maintained that what mattered about an action was how much pleasure it produced and how much pain was avoided. He enjoined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-edmonds/bentham-maintained-that-what-mattered-about-an-action-was-how-much/) [David Edmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-edmonds/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/david-edmonds-64956_bentham_bentham-maintained-that-what-mattered-ab_2308491.jpg) > [“Leaping forward, the Reverend OCTAVIUS wrung both the black worsted gloves of Mr. BENTHAM, and introduced the latter to the old lawyer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/various/leaping-forward-the-reverend-octavius-wrung-both-the-black-worsted/) [Various](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/various/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e2/various-1467_bentham_leaping-forward-the-reverend-octavius-wr_2336388.jpg) > [“In the Second World War he took no public part, having escaped to a neutral country just before its outbreak. In private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/in-the-second-world-war-he-took-no-public-part-having-escaped-to-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/bertrand-russell-69_bentham_in-the-second-world-war-he-took-no-publi_2347333.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bentham/#itemlist", "name": "Bentham Quotes", "numberOfItems": 8, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Bentham spent much of his life writing constitutions and proposing legal reform in the light of his utilitarianism. The evaluation of particular acts was hardly his concern. The psychology of his day was hedonistic and he worked in that framework and passed it on to Mill, but it is clear as day that Mill was not a hedonist in the sense in which we use that term today, though he used the language of pleasure and pain to express his views.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dale Jamieson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/bentham-spent-much-of-his-life-writing-constitutions-and-proposing/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1c/dale-jamieson-4075_clear_bentham-spent-much-of-his-life-writing-c_479892.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1c/dale-jamieson-4075_clear_bentham-spent-much-of-his-life-writing-c_479892.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1c/dale-jamieson-4075_clear_bentham-spent-much-of-his-life-writing-c_479892.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Bentham spent much of his life writing constitutions and proposing legal reform in the light of his…” — Dale Jamieson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“ Jeremy Bentham argued that 'even in the best of times the great mass of citizens will most probably possess few resources other than their daily labour and, consequently, be always near indigence'. As long as working man was near indigence, hunger would remain an effective tool to goad him to labour. Bentham argued that an important task of government was to ensure conditions of deprivation, thereby guaranteeing that hunger would [be a constant motivation to work].”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Linda McQuaig" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-mcquaig/jeremy-bentham-argued-that-even-in-the-best-of-times-the-great-mass/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be5/linda-mcquaig-38650_bentham_jeremy-bentham-argued-that-even-in-the-b_787591.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be5/linda-mcquaig-38650_bentham_jeremy-bentham-argued-that-even-in-the-b_787591.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be5/linda-mcquaig-38650_bentham_jeremy-bentham-argued-that-even-in-the-b_787591.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Jeremy Bentham argued that 'even in the best of times the great mass of citizens will most probably possess…” — Linda McQuaig", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Yet over the last few decades the tables have turned, and Bentham’s vision has been taken far more seriously. People increasingly believe that the immense systems established more than a century ago to strengthen the nation should actually serve the happiness and well-being of individual citizens. We are not here to serve the state – it is here to serve us. The right to the pursuit of happiness, originally envisaged as a restraint on state power, has imperceptibly morphed into the right to happiness –”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Yuval Noah Harari" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/yet-over-the-last-few-decades-the-tables-have-turned-and-bentham-s/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/yuval-noah-harari-100_happiness_yet-over-the-last-few-decades-the-tables_1126254.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/yuval-noah-harari-100_happiness_yet-over-the-last-few-decades-the-tables_1126254.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/yuval-noah-harari-100_happiness_yet-over-the-last-few-decades-the-tables_1126254.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Yet over the last few decades the tables have turned, and Bentham’s vision has been taken far more…” — Yuval Noah Harari", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“ Bentham was an atheist and in no sense of the word could he be described as a theologian.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James E. Crimmins" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-crimmins/bentham-was-an-atheist-and-in-no-sense-of-the-word-could-he-be/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/james-e-crimmins-245393_atheism_bentham-was-an-atheist-and-in-no-sense-o_1169456.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/james-e-crimmins-245393_atheism_bentham-was-an-atheist-and-in-no-sense-o_1169456.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/james-e-crimmins-245393_atheism_bentham-was-an-atheist-and-in-no-sense-o_1169456.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Bentham was an atheist and in no sense of the word could he be described as a theologian.” — James E. Crimmins", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To every man of great age - to Sir Wlater Bentham himself - the idea of suicide has once at least been present in the ante-room of his soul; on the threshold, waiting to enter, held out from the inmost chamber by some chance reality, some vague fear, some painful hope. The Man of Property, p. 363”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Galsworthy" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/to-every-man-of-great-age-to-sir-wlater-bentham-himself-the-idea-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/john-galsworthy-4232_bentham_to-every-man-of-great-age-to-sir-wlater_1546187.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/john-galsworthy-4232_bentham_to-every-man-of-great-age-to-sir-wlater_1546187.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/john-galsworthy-4232_bentham_to-every-man-of-great-age-to-sir-wlater_1546187.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To every man of great age - to Sir Wlater Bentham himself - the idea of suicide has once at least been…” — John Galsworthy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Bentham maintained that what mattered about an action was how much pleasure it produced and how much pain was avoided. He enjoined us always to act so as to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Edmonds" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-edmonds/bentham-maintained-that-what-mattered-about-an-action-was-how-much/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/david-edmonds-64956_bentham_bentham-maintained-that-what-mattered-ab_2308491.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/david-edmonds-64956_bentham_bentham-maintained-that-what-mattered-ab_2308491.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/david-edmonds-64956_bentham_bentham-maintained-that-what-mattered-ab_2308491.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Bentham maintained that what mattered about an action was how much pleasure it produced and how much pain…” — David Edmonds", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Leaping forward, the Reverend OCTAVIUS wrung both the black worsted gloves of Mr. BENTHAM, and introduced the latter to the old lawyer and his ward.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Various" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/various/leaping-forward-the-reverend-octavius-wrung-both-the-black-worsted/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e2/various-1467_bentham_leaping-forward-the-reverend-octavius-wr_2336388.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e2/various-1467_bentham_leaping-forward-the-reverend-octavius-wr_2336388.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e2/various-1467_bentham_leaping-forward-the-reverend-octavius-wr_2336388.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Leaping forward, the Reverend OCTAVIUS wrung both the black worsted gloves of Mr. BENTHAM, and introduced…” — Various", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In the Second World War he took no public part, having escaped to a neutral country just before its outbreak. In private conversation he was wont to say that homicidal lunatics were well employed in killing each other, but that sensible men would keep out of their way while they were doing it. Fortunately this outlook, which is reminiscent of Bentham, has become rare in this age, which recognizes that heroism has a value independent of its utility. The Last Survivor of a Dead Epoch”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bertrand Russell" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/in-the-second-world-war-he-took-no-public-part-having-escaped-to-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/bertrand-russell-69_bentham_in-the-second-world-war-he-took-no-publi_2347333.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/bertrand-russell-69_bentham_in-the-second-world-war-he-took-no-publi_2347333.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/bertrand-russell-69_bentham_in-the-second-world-war-he-took-no-publi_2347333.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the Second World War he took no public part, having escaped to a neutral country just before its…” — Bertrand Russell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bentham/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bentham/", "name": "Bentham Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bentham/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1c/dale-jamieson-4075_clear_bentham-spent-much-of-his-life-writing-c_479892.jpg" }, "description": "Browse 8 Bentham quotes by 8 authors. 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