INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Bentham Is Present in Spirit at Symposium
to Commemorate Father of Utilitarianism

At a symposium last weekend at the University of Texas at Austin, scholars of philosophy, law, political science, and economics discussed the life, work, and legacy of the British philosopher Jeremy Bentham. Bentham himself joined the proceedings, via a videoconference from London.

Not that he had much to say. Bentham's been dead for more than 160 years, but in his will he left explicit instructions that his body be preserved and brought to meetings of his friends and followers. The two-day symposium marked Bentham's 250th birthday.

Bentham is regarded as the founder of utilitarianism, the school of philosophy that holds that the purpose of government is to foster the happiness of the individual, and that the greatest happiness of the most people should be the goal of human existence. He wrote hundreds of papers on law, public policy, and economics.

"It was a good idea to have a dialogue with him directly, after 250 years, since he exists -- in the sense that he's a mummy," said James Fishkin, chairman of the University of Texas's government department, in an interview Monday. Dr. Fishkin, who directed the symposium, said Bentham thought that his preserved body might be used to stimulate debate long after his death.

Bentham's preserved skeleton, which he called an "auto icon," is padded out to simulate a human body and is dressed in one of his suits. The skeleton holds Bentham's favorite walking stick and is seated in his chair. The figure is topped with a wax sculpture of Bentham's head -- a carving made after an attempt to preserve the philosopher's actual head had failed.

The symposium began with a teleconference that linked the moot-court room at the University of Texas law school, where the event was held, with the main building at University College London, where Bentham's auto icon is kept. The symposium's panelists, who addressed Bentham directly, took turns bringing the philosopher up to date on how well his ideas had stood up since his death. Dr. Fishkin described photocopiers to Bentham, who believed that the ability to make many copies of government documents would allow citizens to keep a close eye on the actions of the authorities.

Bentham also envisioned "conversation tubes" -- telecommunication tools like telephones, e-mail, and the videoconferencing system that his auto icon experienced firsthand at the symposium. He theorized about such inventions as the "panopticon" -- a round prison that would prevent its inmates from seeing one another but would keep them within sight of the guards. The prison symbolized Bentham's belief that a government in plain view of its citizens would be held accountable for their welfare. The prison, which was never built, was constructed in birthday-cake form for the symposium. While some philosophers have criticized the idea of the panopticon, Dr. Fishkin told Bentham, "there would be no controversy that in the form in which we built it, it would serve the general happiness."

Scholars at University College London have set up the Bentham Project, an effort to collect and publish Bentham's works and letters. Bentham, who believed that education should be widely accessible -- not reserved for the upper classes, as it was at many institutions in his day -- is thought of as the spiritual founder of the college.