The ages of man

Having left my home in the charge of two young men and sadly taken my leave of a middle-aged man, I'm now spending a few days catching up with an old man, although at 91 he's a mere youngster compared to this one, the 180-year old almus pater, if you like, of my alma mater, University College London. I usually drop in to pay my respects if I'm in the area. Jeremy Bentham's stuffed body was the first sight I saw when entering the main concourse to register as an undergraduate many years ago.

I have to confess that I did not apply because of the ethos of the college but because it was one of the few at that time to offer a degree in anthropology: 'the study of man' as it was called. (These days I would prefer to say the study of humankind.) However I am now very proud to be a graduate of "the godless college", the first university in England to admit students regardless of race, creed or political belief (and later, of gender.) This controversial approach was inspired by Bentham's philosophy and in particular his radical views on education and society, which included secularism, welfare, sexual freedom/equality and animal rights.

Bentham did not believe in an afterlife and when he died in 1832 he left instructions that his body be used for dissection and afterwards be preserved as an 'auto-icon'. His corpse was dissected publicly then embalmed, stuffed and, dressed in his own clothes with his spectacles beside him, placed in a glass case to startle each new generation of UCL students.

There were problems with the preservation of the head (which was treated according to the Maori system of desiccation) and what you can see is a wax replica of his face. The actual head is kept in cold storage but an image of it can be viewed in my blipfolio here - it's not too unpleasant.

[Apologies for my paucity of comments while I am away from home.]