ABSTRACT
Though, as John Plamenatz has pointed out, 'There is scarcely a writer on moral and political theory who is free from every taint of utilitarianism',1 of that school of philosophers who can be formally labelled utilitarians, Jeremy Bentham was the acknowledged leader — he was 'the first utilitarian to have disciples, and to create something that deserves to be called a school of thought'.2 The educational recommendations of Bentham and the two Mills — the utilitarians with whom we shall be concerned — were deeply affected by their utilitarian philosophy, and it will be necessary to consider this. But first, something must be said about their leader's general orientation of mind.
