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On
12 and 13 May 2012, what was almost certainly the first Chinese conference
dedicated to the study of Jeremy Bentham was hosted by the Law School of
Zhengzhou University. Professor Philip Schofield and Dr Michael Quinn from the
Bentham Project were joined in attending by Professor David Lieberman from the
University of California, Berkeley, Professor Gerald Postema from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Dr Emmanuelle de Champs from the
University of Paris VII and the Centre Bentham.
The conference proved to be a
stimulating intellectual exchange, as both Chinese and Western scholars
presented research on Bentham, before an audience of academics and students.
Professor Schofield contributed both a lecture on Bentham's critique of natural
rights, in which he constructed a Benthamic response to contemporary critics of
utilitarianism, such as John Rawls, and a paper based on his current editorial
work on Bentham's disinclination to regulate in matters of taste, particularly
sexual taste. Professor Lieberman lectured on the idea of the mixed
constitution, and read a fascinating paper on the connections between Bentham's
enthusiasm for codification and his democratic theory. Dr de Champs revealed
the extent to which the early Bentham self-identified as an active citizen in a
European Republic of Letters, and Dr Quinn
discussed some of the tensions involved in responding to the pains experienced
by an illiberal majority in consequence of the proposed decriminalization of
'harmless' actions to which they objected. The Chinese audience responded
enthusiastically to the lecture by Professor Postema on 'The Ethos of Law',
which stressed the individual and collective responsibility for creating an
environment in which power, public or private, was held consistently to
account. Dr Chen Jinghui presented a paper on Hart's 'Content-Independent
Reasons'; Professor Guodong Xu explored the connections between Epicureanism
and Utilitarianism; Dr Hongguo Chen investigated Bentham's treatment of William
Blackstone; Dr Danhong Wu painstakingly reviewed Bentham's exhaustive
discussion of the law of evidence; Professor Yanxin Su revealed the extent to
which Bentham's legal thought was influenced by his knowledge of Roman law;
Professor Honghai Li sought to rehabilitate common law, in opposition to
Bentham's pejorative appellation 'dog law'; and Professor Xiaobo Zhai presented
a ground-breaking paper on Bentham's 'natural arrangement'. Professors
Schofield, Lieberman and Postema were appointed honorary professors of Zhengzhou University, and Professor Schofield took
part with the President of the University in inaugurating the new Bentham
Centre at the University, under its Director Professor Xiaobo Zhai.
A fulsome tribute and accompanying thanks must be paid to the superb hospitality afforded by Zhengzhou University. All the foreign guests left harbouring wonderful memories of their time in China, and with the firm intention of broadening and deepening the new relationships forged during the trip. Their only regret concerned the recognition that they might never again be able to eat Chinese food in Europe or America: it's just not the same as Chinese food in China!
We feel sure that Jeremy would be happy to know of the developing interest in his thought in a country with one fifth of the world's population, and would be anxious to promote the translation of his works into Chinese.
Dr Michael Quinn