Jeremy Bentham's self image: An exemplary bequest for dissection

Abstract

The eighteenth century philosopher and law reformer Jeremy Bentham still sits above ground, in his Sunday best. He died in 1832 and, in keeping with his doctrine of Utility, left his body for dissection. He expected to gain deathbed comfort from the thought that: “How little service soever it may have been in my power to render to mankind during my lifetime, I shall at least be not altogether useless after my death.”1But this was to be no ordinary bequest for dissection. Bentham conceived that a corpse had twofold use-value—transitory: “anatomical, or dissectional”; and more permanent: “conservative, or statuary.”2The “savage ingenuity” of the indigenous New Zealanders had inspired Bentham to direct that his head be dried and preserved. 2 During his lifetime experiments were made using the oven at Bentham's own house. 3 His skeleton was to be reassembled, fully clothed, and exhibited in a glass case. This reconstructed entity he termed his auto-icon, or self image. For the previous 20 years the grand old man had carried in his pocket the glass eyeballs which would adorn his dehydrated head. © 1987, British Medical Journal Publishing Group. All rights reserved.