William Godwin

"Mary Shelley's father, William Godwin, was the founder of philosophical anarchism. He epitomised the optimism of events in France at the time he began writing, Godwin looked forward to a period in which the dominance of mind over matter would be so complete that mental perfectibility would take a physical form, allowing us to control illness and ageing and become immortal. His moral theory is often described as utilitarian."
Source - http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRgodwin.htm

-Sherene Boodram