# Jeremy Bentham — The Autobiography of John Stuart Mill character guide

> Jeremy Bentham in The Autobiography of John Stuart Mill by John Stuart Mill.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Bentham, Bentham

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

The utilitarian philosopher whose doctrines Mill absorbed as a boy, and whose fortune and fame underwrote the radical review that carried those doctrines into print.

## Who they are

Bentham is the intellectual patron of Mill's circle: he funds the Westminster Review at his own cost and hands its editorship to Bowring when Mill's father declines. His system gives the young Mill a creed and a cause, but its cold arithmetic of utility will later feel like a cage. He matters because the book's central drama—Mill outgrowing the philosophy he was raised on—begins with Bentham's shadow.

## Relationships

### [John Stuart Mill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_john_stuart_mill_se/characters/john_stuart_mill)

_professional_

Bentham was Mill's father's friend and his own philosophical mentor, deeply influencing his early utilitarianism.

## In the story

### [Childhood and Early Education (1806–1819)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_john_stuart_mill_se/chapters/i)

Mentioned as a friend of James Mill; his work on legislation is referenced in the context of Mill's early reading.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_john_stuart_mill_se/chapters/ii)

Mentioned indirectly through the context of his father's philosophical circle, though not directly named in this chapter.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_john_stuart_mill_se/chapters/iii)

His amanuensis allowed the Utilitarian Society to meet in Bentham's house; his doctrines were central to the group's discussions.

### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_john_stuart_mill_se/chapters/iv)

Mentioned as supporting women's suffrage against James Mill's view, and as the author of the Rationale of Judicial Evidence which Mill edited.

### [Crisis in My Mental History: One Stage Onward](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_john_stuart_mill_se/chapters/v)

Mentioned as the philosopher whose work inspired Mill's early reformist zeal.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_john_stuart_mill_se/chapters/vi)

Mentioned as a foundational influence whose philosophy Mill sought to broaden.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_john_stuart_mill_se/chapters/vii)

Referenced in context of Mill's earlier Benthamism and subsequent reaction against it.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_john_stuart_mill_se/characters/jeremy_bentham
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_john_stuart_mill_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_john_stuart_mill_se/characters