{
  "id": 19844500,
  "title": "'Godless' founder of utilitarianism had severe dental problems and was in 'excruciating pain,' CT scans of his severed head reveal",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/godless-founder-of-utilitarianism-had-severe-dental-problems-and-was",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-13T17:39:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Live Science",
    "slug": "live-science",
    "url": "https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/godless-founder-of-utilitarianism-had-severe-dental-problems-and-was-in-excruciating-pain-ct-scans-of-his-severed-head-reveal"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The founder of utilitarianism, Jeremy Bentham, experienced severe dental issues throughout his life, as evidenced by CT scans of his severed head. Bentham, who lived from 1748 to 1832, was missing many teeth and had advanced arthritis in his lower jaw when he died at the age of 84. His remains, including his auto-icon, have been on display at University College London (UCL) for over 150 years. The scans revealed that Bentham's jawbone had thinned significantly, indicating the severity of his pain. Despite his belief that his body would be donated to science, Bentham's remains were preserved as an auto-icon, a wax reconstruction of himself with his real head attached. The auto-icon has been a point of interest at UCL ever since.",
  "summary": "Jeremy Bentham, the \"godless\" philosopher who founded modern utilitarianism, had severe dental and jaw problems, a CT scan of his skull reveals.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}