Blog: Statehouse Observer

The Panopticon is part of the title of a 1787 book written by utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham as well as the term for a type of prison he designed. The Panopticon is designed to allow the jailer to observe all of the prisoners without the prisoner knowing that he or she is being observed.

The utilitarian goal of the panopticon was twofold: to reduce labor costs by cutting the staff required to run the prison, and reducing mortality rates among prisoners encased in the structure. Jeremy Betham's Panopticon; or, the Inspection-House has practical and philosophical implications today, echoed in fears of Orwellian totalitarianism and technological progress that allow for Bentham's concept to be taken to extremes.

Utilitarian Ethics

In Panopticon; or, the Inspection-House, Bentham wrote a series of letters from Crecheff, Russia, to a friend in England. The letters describe his idea for prison structure reform, to create a new architechtural style for prison buildings that would allow for maximal use of resources, both human and financial.

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