g point of a radical critique of society, through which he aimed to evaluate the usefulness of existing institutions, practices and beliefs. He lived through a time of major social, political and economic change and the 'industrial revolution,' with the massive economic and social shifts that were caused by it, the rise of the middle class, revolutions in France and America are all reflected in his considerations on existing institutions. He spent much of his time engaged in intense study, sometimes eight to twelve hours a day and by his death he had written tens of thousands manuscripts on many subjects. In 1808 he met James Mill, John Stuart Mill’s father, who fully supported Bentham’s ideas on utilitarianism. Bentham founded a group of intellectual philosophers called the ‘Philosophical Radicals’, or simply the ‘Benthamites’, of which James Mill became a prominent member along with David Ricardo, George Grote and John Austin. Bentham and James Mill founded the Westminster Review, which aimed to propagate Radical views and to oppose the Whig supporting Edinburgh Review and the Tory Quarterly Review. It was in this publication that much of J. S. Mill’s work was presented, although he also wrote for other newspapers and journals including the Morning Chronicle and Parliamentary History & Review. By the 1820’s Bentham had become a widely respected figure both in Britain and other parts of the world and many of his ideas continue to be at the centre of academic debate.Bentham’s work is still considered to be the true basis of the utilitarian philosophy. His most influential works, in terms of how much they influenced the Victorian reform, are An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789), widely considered as the founding document of British utilitarianism, and Constitutional Code (1830-41) He believed that “Nature has placed mankind under the governance of t...
