Search results
Mar 5, 2020 · SMART NEWS. English Philosopher’s Dressed-Up Skeleton Goes on View in New Glass Display. When utilitarian thinker Jeremy Bentham died in 1832, he requested his preserved remains be displayed in...
Oct 3, 2017 · Philosopher Jeremy Bentham's body is preserved in his own clothes at University College London, which he helped to found, but the head has been kept in a separate box due to deterioration.
Instead of paying burial fees to the Church and letting his body rot underground, Bentham wanted to put his corpse to public use. In this he was influenced by his friend and protégé Dr. Thomas...
People also ask
What happened to Jeremy Bentham?
Where can I find a biography of Jeremy Bentham?
Where is Jeremy Bentham's body?
Why did Jeremy Bentham donate his body?
- Who Was Jeremy Bentham?
- Why Is Bentham's Body on Show?
- What Is His Connection to UCL?
- Where Was Bentham Originally Placed on Display?
- What About His head?
- Where Is Jeremy Bentham Now?
- Why Was He moved?
- What Was The Response?
- Anything Else to Know?
Jeremy Bentham(1748-1832) was a philosopher and political radical, who formulated the theory of utilitarianism, which argues that an action is right if it creates happiness in the greatest number of people, and wrong is if it produces the opposite effect.
In his will, Bentham requested that his body be preserved and fashioned into what he called an "auto-icon", a task which was carried out by his friend, surgeon Thomas Southwood Smith.
Although not directly responsible for the foundation of UCLin 1826 — as is often stated — Bentham was nevertheless very supportive. He believed in equal education for all, one of the university's founding principles. His body was given to the university by Smith in 1850, 18 years after his death.
For decades, Jeremy Bentham's body was on display in a corridor of the Wilkins Buildingat UCL, housed inside a wooden cabinet. The head is made of wax (see below), but the rest of his real skeleton lurks beneath his clothes.
While the skeletal remains and wax head of Bentham remain in the Student Centre, his actual headremains out of public view elsewhere at UCL. The head was once stolen in a prank by students from the rival King's College, and has ever since been kept under lock and key.
The philosopher is now in a much more visible location in the atrium of UCL's Student Centre. In place of the wooden box, he now resides in a fully transparent case.
Christina McGregor, Head of Collections Management at UCL Culture, said in a statement: "Bentham’s new home provides greatly enhanced preservation conditions, better visitor access and a place at the centre of the student community."
While many on social media appear to be pleased with the move, others miss his former home. LSE philosophy professor Michael Otsuka started a Twitter threadabout the Bentham relocation, in which commenters raise a number of objections and opinions. The new display has been described as 'undignified', like a 'department store mannequin', and potenti...
The UCL Student Centre is expected to be Bentham's permanent resting spot. The atrium is open to visitors from 7am-7pm each day. For more information check outUCL.
- Alex Corey
Jeremy Bentham, categorised links; The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Archived 12 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine has an extensive biographical reference of Bentham. "Jeremy Bentham at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2007" Archived 30 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine A play-reading of the life and legacy of Jeremy Bentham.
Oct 23, 2013 · The moral philosopher, whose advocacy of animal welfare, prison reform, universal suffrage, and gay rights was far ahead of his time, left a will with specific instructions on the treatment of his...
Sep 1, 2015 · Bentham preserved his corpse not for religious reasons, but for secular philosophical reasons, and unlike legions of other mummies, he did it of his own plan and accord. Bentham even wrote an...
