Jeremy Bentham Quotes

Right ... is the child of law. ~ Jeremy Bentham

Jeremy Bentham opened his Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation with the famous sentence Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do. ~ Daniel Kahneman

Lawsuits generally originate with the obstinate and the ignorant, but they do not end with them; and that lawyer was right who left all his money to the support of an asylum for fools and lunatics, saying that from such he got it, and to such he would bequeath it. ~ Jeremy Bentham

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]. ~ Linda McQuaig

The word "independence" is united to the accessory ideas of dignity and virtue. The word "dependence" is united to the ideas of inferiority and corruption. ~ Jeremy Bentham

O Logic: born gatekeeper to the Temple of Science, victim of capricious destiny: doomed hitherto to be the drudge of pedants: come to the aid of thy master, Legislation ~ Jeremy Bentham

The rarest of all human qualities is consistency. ~ Jeremy Bentham

What else is it that should trace the insuperable line? Is it the faculty of reason or perhaps the faculty of discourse? But a full-grown horse or dog is beyond comparison a more rational, as well as more conversable animal, than an infant of a day or a week or even a month old. But suppose they were otherwise, what would it avail? The question is not, Can they reason?, nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer? Why should the law refuse its protection to any sensitive being? The time will come when humanity will extend its mantle over everything which breathes ... ~ Jeremy Bentham

Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do. On the one hand the standard of right and wrong, on the other the chain of causes and effects, are fastened to their throne. They govern us in all we do, in all we say, in all we think: every effort we can make to throw off our subjection, will serve but to demonstrate and confirm it. In words a man may pretend to abjure their empire: but in reality he will remain subject to it all the while. The principle of utility recognizes this subjection, and assumes it for the foundation of that system, the object of which is to rear the fabric of felicity by the hands of reason and of law. Systems which attempt to question it, deal in sounds instead of sense, in caprice instead of reason, in darkness instead of light. ~ Jeremy Bentham

If Christianity needed an Anti-Christ, they needed look no farther than Paul. ~ Jeremy Bentham

Jeremy Bentham startled the world many years ago by stating in effect that if the amount of pleasure obtained from each be equal there is nothing to choose between poetry and push-pin. Since few people now know what push-pin is, I may explain that it is a child's game in which one player tries to push his pin across that of another player, and if he succeeds and then is able by pressing down on the two pins with the ball of his thumb to lift them off the table he wins possession of his opponent's pin. [...] The indignant retort to Bentham's statement was that spiritual pleasures are obviously higher than physical pleasures. But who say so? Those who prefer spiritual pleasures. They are in a miserable minority, as they acknowledge when they declare that the gift of aesthetic appreciation is a very rare one. The vast majority of men are, as we know, both by necessity and choice preoccupied with material considerations. Their pleasures are material. They look askance at those who spent their lives in the pursuit of art. That is why they have attached a depreciatory sense to the word aesthete, which means merely one who has a special appreciation of beauty. How are we going to show that they are wrong? How are we going to show that there is something to choose between poetry and push-pin? I surmise that Bentham chose push-pin for its pleasant alliteration with poetry. Let us speak of lawn tennis. It is a popular game which many of us can play with pleasure. It needs skill and jud ~ W. Somerset Maugham

Judges of elegance and taste consider themselves as benefactors to the human race, whilst they are really only the interrupters of their pleasure ... There is no taste which deserves the epithet good, unless it be the taste for such employments which, to the pleasure actually produced by them, conjoin some contingent or future utility: there is no taste which deserves to be characterized as bad, unless it be a taste for some occupation which has mischievous tendency. ~ Jeremy Bentham

Create all the happiness you are able to create; remove all the misery you are able to remove. Every day will allow you,
will invite you to add something to the pleasure of others,
or to diminish something of their pains. ~ Jeremy Bentham

Unkind language is sure to produce the fruits of unkindness
that is, suffering in the bosom of others. ~ Jeremy Bentham

As Jeremy Bentham had asked about animals well over two hundred years ago, the question was not whether they could reason or talk, but could they suffer? And yet, somehow, it seemed to take more imagination for humans to identify with animal suffering than it did to conceive of space flight or cloning or nuclear fusion. Yes, she was a fanatic in the eyes of most of the country ... Mostly, however, she just lacked patience for people who wouldn't accept her belief that humans inflicted needless agony on the animals around them, and they did so in numbers that were absolutely staggering. ~ Chris Bohjalian

The request of industry to government is as modest as that of Diogenes to Alexander: Get out of my light. ~ Jeremy Bentham

The greatest happiness of the greatest number is the foundation of morals and legislation. ~ Jeremy Bentham

The law of England has established trial by judge and jury in the conviction that it is the mode best calculated to ascertain the truth. ~ Jeremy Bentham

Prose is when all the lines except the last go on to the end. Poetry is when some of them fall short of it. ~ Jeremy Bentham

Reputation is the road to power ~ Jeremy Bentham

John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 8 May 1873), English philosopher, political theorist, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential liberal thinker of the 19th century whose works on liberty justified freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was an exponent of utilitarianism, an ethical theory developed by Jeremy Bentham, although his conception of it was very different from Bentham's. He clearly set forth the premises of the scientific method. ~ John Stuart Mill

Every law is an infraction of liberty. ~ Jeremy Bentham

How is property given? By restraining liberty; that is, by taking it away so far as necessary for the purpose. How is your house made yours? By debarring every one else from the liberty of entering it without your leave. ~ Jeremy Bentham

By utility is meant that property is any object, whereby it tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good, or happiness(all this in the present case come to the same thing) or (what comes again to the same thing) to prevent the happening of mischief, pain, evil or unhappiness to the party who whose is considered: if that party be the community in general, then the happiness of the community; if a particular individual; then the happiness of that individual ~ Jeremy Bentham

It is the greatest good to the greatest number of people which is the measure of right and wrong. ~ Jeremy Bentham

The said truth is that it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong. ~ Jeremy Bentham

Is it possible for a man to move the earth? Yes; but he must first find out another earth to stand upon. ~ Jeremy Bentham

On August 26 the Assembly responded by conferring French citizenship upon Joseph Priestley, Jeremy Bentham, William Wilberforce, Anacharsis Cloots, Johann Pestalozzi, Thaddeus Kosciusko, Friedrich Schiller, George Washington, Thomas Paine, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. ~ Will Durant

Natural rights is simple nonsense: natural and imprescriptible rights, rhetorical nonsense - nonsense upon stilts. ~ Jeremy Bentham

The offence is what is improperly called the death of an infant, who has ceased to be, before knowing what existence is, a result of a nature not to give the slightest inquietude to the most timid imagination; and which can cause no regrets but to the very person who, through a sentiment of shame and pity, has refused to prolong a life begun under the auspices of misery. ~ Jeremy Bentham

Lawyers are the only persons in whom ignorance of the law is not punished. ~ Jeremy Bentham

As to the evil which results from a censorship, it is impossible to measure it, for it is impossible to tell where it ends. ~ Jeremy Bentham

Tyranny and anarchy are never far apart. ~ Jeremy Bentham

happy life and merciful death ~ Jeremy Bentham

All poetry is misrepresentation. ~ Jeremy Bentham

Without publicity, no good is permanent; under the auspices of publicity, no evil can continue. ~ Jeremy Bentham

What is the source of this premature anxiety to establish fundamental laws? It is the old conceit of being wiser than all posterity - wiser than those who will have had more experience, - the old desire of ruling over posterity - the old recipe for enabling the dead to chain down the living ~ Jeremy Bentham

No power of government ought to be employed in the endeavor to establish any system or article of belief on the subject of religion. ~ Jeremy Bentham

An absolute and unlimited right over any object of property would be the right to commit nearly every crime.If Ihad sucha right over thestick Iamaboutto cut, I might employ it as a mace to knock down the passengers, or I might convert it into a sceptre as an emblem of royalty, or into an idol to offend the national religion. ~ Jeremy Bentham

If a man happen to take it into his head to assassinate with his own hands, or with the sword of justice, those whom he calls heretics, that is, people who think, or perhaps only speak, differently upon a subject which neither party understands, he will be as much inclined to do this at one time as at another. Fanaticism never sleeps: it is never glutted: it is never stopped by philanthropy; for it makes a merit of trampling on philanthropy: it is never stopped by conscience; for it has pressed conscience into its service. Avarice, lust, and vengeance, have piety, benevolence, honour; fanaticism has nothing to oppose it. ~ Jeremy Bentham

All punishment is mischief; all punishment in itself is evil. ~ Jeremy Bentham

Secrecy, being an instrument of conspiracy, ought never to be the system of a regular government. ~ Jeremy Bentham

It is vain to talk of the interest of the community, without understanding what is the interest of the individual. ~ Jeremy Bentham

In the mind of all, fiction, in the logical sense, has been the coin of necessity; - in that of poets of amusement - in that of the priest and the lawyer of mischievous immorality in the shape of mischievous ambition, - and too often both priest and lawyer have framed or made in part this instrument. ~ Jeremy Bentham

Want keeps pace with dignity. Destitute of the lawful means of supporting his rank, his dignity presents a motive for malversation, and his power furnishes the means. ~ Jeremy Bentham

You want to know a secret?"
"Always."
"My real name is Dave."
"I see."
"This doesn't seem to amuse you."
"I met Jeremy the troll a few nights ago."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously. Also known as the Mighty Raaaarrggh! Although ... I can sorta see why you changed the name. 'Dave' isn't knwon for its mysterious, mystic sexiness. ~ Kate Griffin

Violence solves what tolerance does not. ~ Jeremy Yong

(Guy) Pearce, as the hero, makes the mistake of trying to give a good and realistic performance. (Jeremy) Irons at least knows what kind of movie he's in, and hams it up accordingly. ~ Roger Ebert

I have dealt with a pretty interesting mix of young people, many of whom have never been involved in any form of politics at any level who are interested in alternatives to austerity and debt, and older people who left the Labour party, mainly over Iraq, who are coming back in. ~ Jeremy Corbyn

An indigenous culture with sufficient territory, and bilingual and intercultural education, is in a better position to maintain and cultivate its mythology and shamanism. Conversely, the confiscation of their lands and imposition of foreign education, which turns their young people into amnesiacs, threatens the survival not only of these people, but of an entire way of knowing. It is as if one were burning down the oldest universities in the world and their libraries, one after another - thereby sacrificing the knowledge of the world's future generations. ~ Jeremy Narby

I remember clearly the afternoon that she stood at the corner beside the door of the tourist centre in Gdansk. ~ You Jin

Without a doubt, Robert Rodriguez is the reason I was drawn to it. The fact that he even knew who I was and then was interested in me for the role was amazing. I am a huge fan of his and it's like a bucket list thing for me to be able to work with him and knowing that Jessica Alba and Jeremy Piven were in it I knew that part was going to be good and as you said, the pedigree of the series was great, so it was really one of those things I couldn'tresist. ~ Joel McHale

I think ageing suits me because I was born old, like Spencer Tracy or Dolly the Sheep. ~ Jeremy Hardy

The antitrust litigation currently in the federal courts in the U.S. against Monsanto will be the test case in the life sciences, just as the Microsoft case was the test case in the information sciences. ~ Jeremy Rifkin

My goal, everyone's goal is to get better at what we do. ~ Jeremy Piven

Zach, it doesn't matter which talking heads the Republicrats put up as their candidates. Either way you're voting to maintain the status quo. Is that what you want?"
"Ummm...."
"Are you pro-choice?"
"Sure, I guess." Abortion's not something a gay man has to think about often.
"And you must be in favour of allowing gays to marry?"
"Of course." But I'd have to be dating someone first, right?
"And you believe in the decriminalization of marijuana?"
"I suppose." There was no way i was going to to argue with a man who sold bongs for a living on that one.
"Don't you think you should be able to vote against our out-of-control welfare state without having to vote against those basic rights? Basic rights which should be protected by our constitution?"
"Well-"
"Have you even read the constitution, Zach?"
"I don't think so," I admitted in surprise.
He shook his head at me. "Neither has the president, Zach. Think about that."
He left a stack of pamphlets on the counter and headed for Ruby's. It was going to be a long campaign season. ~ Marie Sexton

The individual is far better-positioned to wait patiently for the right pitch while paying no regard to what others are doing, which is almost impossible for professionals. ~ Jeremy Grantham

Marriage hath in it less of beauty but more of safety, than the single life; it hath more care, but less danger, it is more merry, and more sad; it is fuller of sorrows, and fuller of joys; it lies under more burdens, but it is supported by all the strengths of love and charity, and those burdens are delightful. ~ Bishop Jeremy Taylor

Going social is so much more about the soft sell than the hard sell. ~ Jeremy Goldman

If I were to read about me purely on Twitter, I wouldn't know what to make of me. ~ Jeremy Scahill

The Americans lecture the world on democracy and then won't let me turn the traction control off! ~ Jeremy Clarkson

You're trying to figure out a way to go back in time and spend more time with your father. Who wouldn't want to do that? ~ Jeremy Piven

The air conditioning in Lamborghinis used to be an asthmatic sitting in the dashboard blowing at you through a straw. ~ Jeremy Clarkson

I have agreed to lend my voice to Nature's Guard, an animated series which hopefully will go into production in the near future. The characters are all animals. My voice will be for a character named Longtail. ~ Jeremy Bulloch

To provide its happy people with perpetual fun is now the deepest purpose of Western civilization. ~ Jeremy Seabrook

I want to be a good human being. ~ Jeremy Renner

I get bored very easily, so I love doing different things, changing, doing a job for a month and then doing another one for six months and then moving into a different group of people. I love being able to stop. That's one of the greatest benefits we have in our profession. ~ Jeremy Irons

Taylor was about to answer when, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of -
Kate, Val, and Jeremy.
The three of them sat in a row, wide-eyed, staring over the back of the couch at her and Jason. Mesmerized by the scene. Val had gotten hold of some M&M's from the dish on the coffee table and was chewing them distractedly, as if watching a movie.
Taylor cleared her throat. Ahem . . . ~ Julie James

I'm on the wrong side of heaven, and the righteous side of hell. ~ IVAN MOODY, JEREMY SPENCER, KEVIN CHURKO, THOMAS JASON GRINSTEAD, ZOLTAN BATHORY

Architecture and building is about how you get around the obstacles that are presented to you. That sometimes determines how successful you'll be: How good are you at going around obstacles? ~ Jeremy Renner

A director will always tell you, when you go in to do a scene, 'You go as big as you want, and I'll tell you when to come down.' And I found that on 'Shameless,' you can't follow that rule because they will never tell you to come down. So, I've had to find my own balance with when it makes sense to get this upset or angry. ~ Jeremy Allen White

I know what I like and what I want, and I can sit and enjoy every 10 minutes that go by. And truly enjoy it. ~ Jeremy Renner

I do music because I can just pick up my guitar and sing, and completely satisfy, instant gratification. I don't need a script, I don't people, I don't need anything, cameras, I just have myself and my guitar, or keyboard. ~ Jeremy Renner

Life isn't life, until you know there's a fight, preferably in sight. ~ Jeremy Stites

I certainly play people on the edge quite a lot. I am interested in what makes people odd and what makes them different. In life I try to play the edges. I have a horror of the herd. There are many, many different sorts of people. A lot of people are fairly uninteresting. I want to play the interesting ones. The villains are always more interesting to portray. Shakespeare knew that. ~ Jeremy Irons

No, Jar Jar Binks was fine by me but probably went on a little bit too long. When they were in trouble and were battling, it should have been more serious and it became a bit too silly. ~ Jeremy Bulloch

Friends often tell me how much their grandchildren enjoy 'Are You Being Served?' It doesn't matter that they were not even born when it was broadcast, or that they belong to a very different world. ~ Jeremy Lloyd

You grow your way to prosperity; you don't cut your way to it. ~ Jeremy Corbyn

Don't ever try to be somebody you're not. ~ Jeremy Davis