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London Talks

189 upcoming talks, debates, and seminars in London

Jeremy Bentham, The London University (a.k.a. UCL), and other stories

Date & time
Speaker
Philip SchofieldProfessor of the History of Legal and Political Thought, Director of the Bentham Project and General Editor of the Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham at UCL
Host
Faculty of Laws|UCL Faculty of Laws
Location
Organisation
UCL

Topics

About this talk

In this lecture, Philip Schofield will attempt to separate myth from reality when it comes to Jeremy Bentham, founder of UCL. Oft-repeated 'facts' are that Jeremy Bentham, the utilitarian philosopher and reformer, was the founder of UCL, that he left his body (the auto-icon) to UCL, and that the auto-icon attends meetings of UCL Council, where he is said to be 'present, but not voting'. In this lecture, Philip Schofield will attempt to separate myth from reality, while suggesting that in some cases truth is stranger than fiction. Consideration will also be given to the claim that Bentham's educational ideas, put forward in his treatise Chrestomathia, was the intellectual inspiration for the founding of The London University in 1826.

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