Jeremy Bentham's essay on "paederasty": An introduction

Abstract

This article examines Jeremy Bentham’s essay titled “An Essay on ‘Paederasty’” – which he wrote in 1785 but was never published during his lifetime due to several controversial arguments – where he grapples with the morality of pederasty (adult male homosexual relationships with boys, as common in ancient Greece). By examining documents pertaining to Bentham’s private life, this article argues that Bentham, despite advocating against the criminalization of pederasty, probably did not engage in such acts himself. Although Bentham considered consensual sexual activity among males as morally neutral, he held that the law had to protect parties from abuse of power or deception. – AI-generated abstract