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Why did Jeremy Bentham call natural rights “nonsense upon stilts”?

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Painting by Rembrandt showing Aristotle in rich dark clothing with a gold chain, resting his hand thoughtfully on a marble bust of Homer, illuminated against a dark background. — natural law *Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer*, oil on canvas by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1653; in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Jeremy Bentham, a founder of utilitarianism, famously dismissed the doctrine of natural rights as "nonsense upon stilts" because he believed that rights are exclusively the creation of law.

In Bentham’s view, "real rights" can only originate from "real law." He argued that the concept of a "law of nature" is an imaginary construct, and therefore, any rights derived from it are equally imaginary. By describing these claims as "nonsense upon stilts," he was criticizing the use of high-sounding, rhetorical language to assert rights that lacked a basis in actual, enforceable legislation. He feared that such declarations were merely substitutes for the effective, practical legislation needed to govern society.1

Bentham’s rejection of natural rights was consistent with his broader ethical system, which held that the only meaningful standard for "right" and "wrong" is the utility of an action—specifically, its ability to increase pleasure and decrease pain. Consequently, he viewed natural rights as metaphysical fictions that distracted from the necessary work of legal and social reform.21