While in his lifetime Bentham was a prolific letter writer, he published little and remained obscure to the public until his death. : xxxviii Prior to fleshing out his ideas of a panopticon prison, Bentham had drafted a complete penal code and explored fundamental legal theory. Back in England, Bentham, with the assistance of his brother, continued to develop his theory on the panopticon. Bentham applied his brother's ideas on the constant observation of workers to prisons. While residing with his brother in Krichev, Bentham sketched out the concept of the panopticon in letters. : xxxviii Bentham arrived in Krichev in early 1786 and stayed for almost two years. In 1785, Jeremy Bentham, an English social reformer and founder of utilitarianism, travelled to Krichev in Mogilev Governorate of the Russian Empire (modern Belarus) to visit his brother, Samuel, who accompanied Prince Potemkin. The word panopticon derives from the Greek word for "all seeing" – panoptes. Elevated view of the panopticon prison, by Reveley, 1791 The cells are marked with (H) a skylight (M) was to provide light and ventilation. A drawing of a panopticon prison by Willey Reveley, circa 1791.
He devoted most of his efforts to developing a design for a panopticon prison, so the term now usually refers to that.Ĭonceptual history This computer rendered video shows how Bentham's panopticon would have appeared if built. Bentham conceived the basic plan as being equally applicable to hospitals, schools, sanatoriums, and asylums. From the centre, the manager or staff are able to watch the inmates.
The architecture consists of a rotunda with an inspection house at its centre. They are effectively compelled to self-regulation. The concept is to allow all prisoners of an institution to be observed by a single security guard, without the inmates knowing whether or not they are being watched.Īlthough it is physically impossible for the single guard to observe all the inmates' cells at once, the fact that the inmates cannot know when they are being watched motivates them to act as though they are all being watched at all times. The panopticon is a design of institutional building with an inbuilt system of control, originated by the English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century. This plan of Jeremy Bentham's panopticon prison was drawn by Willey Reveley in 1791.
For other uses, see Panopticon (disambiguation).
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