Book cover for Panopticon [fragments] by Jeremy Bentham

Panopticon [fragments]

2023 Released
114 Pages
1-2 Hours
Ebook Unavailable
Audiobook Unavailable
Hardback Unavailable
CloakISBN 9798218267605

For almost a quarter of a century, utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham attempted to acquire funding and goverment assistance in building an unorthodox prison of ambiguous surveillance and guard. This new text captures fragments of his original proposal and the various correspondence he wrote throughout the years he spent campaigning for the prison's construction.


Bentham's Panopticon is a compelling example of pre-modern thought around visibility and concealment, eventually acting as a central metaphor within Foucault's writings on society and control. Here, re-examined through the virulent design of the multidisciplinary publishing project, CLOAK.

Jeremy Bentham

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was the founder of the doctrine of utilitarianism, outlined in "An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation" (1789). His work on the Panopticon began in 1785. His concern with legal reform and codification continued throughout his life, and he was a campaigner for universal suffrage, the secret ballot and the abolition of capital and corporal punishment.

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