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UCL Laws Semester in London
Where modules run over two terms as a 30 credit module, SIL students will attend and be assessed on the contents of term 1. Please note that some modules reflect this with an additional "A" in their module code, but this is not the case for all of them due to special assessment arrangements for SIL students.
All assessments are graded on a pass/fail basis.
JEREMY BENTHAM AND THE UTILITARIAN TRADITION (LAWSG021A)
Credit value: 15 credits (6 ECTS) |
Module Convenor:
Professor Philip Schofield |
Other Teachers:
Professor William Twining
Dr Michael Quinn
Dr Timothy Causer |
| Intercollegiate teaching: No |
| Teaching Method: 10 x two-hour seminars |
| Who may enrol: LLM students, SIL students, Other UCL Masters students |
| Prerequisites: None |
| Barred module combinations: LAWSG021 |
| Core module for specialism: Jurisprudence and Legal Theory, Legal History |
| Assessment |
| Practice Assessment: To be confirmed |
| Assessment method for Masters students: 3,000 word coursework essay |
| Assessment method for SIL students: 3,000 word coursework essay |
| Module Overview |
Module summary
This module provides a unique opportunity to study the ideas and influence of Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832), the famous jurist, philosopher, and political scientist. Despite concentrating on the thought of one person, the module is surprisingly wide-ranging, since Bentham made significant contributions across a wide range of disciplines, including philosophy, law, politics, and economics. Bentham's ideas are related to the social, political and intellectual context of his own time, and an assessment made of their significance for the contemporary world.
The module is taught by scholars associated with the Bentham Project, which is currently producing a new authoritative edition of The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham, published by Oxford University Press. |
Module syllabus
The syllabus is subject to change:
1. ‘Of the further uses of the dead to the living’
2. Principle of Utility
3. A Fragment on Government
4. Natural Rights—Nonsense upon Stilts
5. Political Fallacies
6. Truth, Utility, and Legal Theory
7. Subsistence, Abundance, Security, and Equality
8. Political Economy
9. Theory of Punishment
10. Panopticon |
Recommended materials
Jeremy Bentham, Selected Writings, ed. Stephen G. Engelmann, Yale University Press, 2011.
Jeremy Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, ed. F.Rosen, J.H. Burns, and H.L.A. Hart, OUP, 1996.
Philip Schofield, Utility and Democracy: the political thought of Jeremy Bentham, OUP, 2006. |
Preliminary reading
J.R. Dinwiddy, Bentham, Oxford Past Masters, Oxford, 1989; also published in J.R. Dinwiddy, Bentham: Selected Writings of John Dinwiddy, ed. W. Twining, Stanford, 2004.
Philip Schofield, Bentham: A Guide for the Perplexed, London, 2009.
There is lots of information and links to resources at the Bentham Project’s web-site http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Bentham-Project/ |
Other information
Visit Jeremy Bentham’s auto-icon in the South Cloisters, UCL.
Can you read Bentham’s manuscripts? Try it out at www.ucl.ac.uk/transcribebentham/
One or more students will make short presentations at each seminar. For each seminar, students will be guided through the relevant section of the reading list, and essential and supplementary reading assigned. Each student is expected to read the essential materials, and preferably one or more of the supplementary materials, and be prepared to discuss their thoughts and ideas in class. Students are encourage to write one short informal essay each term.
The module concludes with the Bentham Seminars, where invited speakers who are carrying out research in Bentham studies are invited to present a paper to the class and answer questions. |
| Prizes for this module: There are currently no prizes available for this module. |
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