The subject of this Essay is not the so-called Liberty of the Will, so unfortunately opposed to the misnamed doctrine of Philosophical Ne-cessity; but Civil, or Social Liberty: the nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual. A question seldom stated, and hardly ever discussed, in general terms, butFile Size: KB May 19, · In John Stuart Mill’s essay “On Liberty”, he explores the question of whether society has a right to suppress an individual’s expression and opinions. Mill’s states, “if all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind” (Mill, ) In John Stuart Mill’s essay On Liberty, Mill states that individual liberty may be limited by only one thing: the self-preservation of society and other individuals. To that end, man must retain the liberty to act and think as he so chooses
The Analysis Of John Stuart Mill’S Essay "On Liberty": [Essay Example], words GradesFixer
On Liberty is a philosophical essay by the English philosopher John Stuart Mill. Published init applies On liberty essay ethical system of utilitarianism to society and state. He emphasizes the importance of individualitywhich he considers prerequisite to the higher pleasures—the summum bonum of utilitarianism. Furthermore, Mill asserts that democratic ideals may result in the tyranny of the majority. Among the standards proposed are Mill's three basic liberties of individuals, his three legitimate objections to government intervention, and his two maxims regarding the relationship of the on liberty essay to society.
On Liberty was a greatly influential and well-received work. Some classical liberals and on liberty essay have criticized it for its apparent discontinuity [ specify ] with Utilitarianismand vagueness in defining the arena within which individuals can contest government infringements on their personal freedom of action. It has remained in print since its initial publication. A copy of On Liberty is passed to the president of the British Liberal Democrats as a symbol of office, on liberty essay. Mill's marriage to Harriet Taylor Mill greatly influenced the concepts in On Libertywhich was published shortly after she died.
According to Mill in his autobiography, On Liberty was first conceived as a short essay in As the ideas developed, the essay was expanded, rewritten and "sedulously" corrected by Mill and his wife, Harriet Taylor. Mill, after suffering a mental breakdown and eventually meeting and subsequently marrying Harriet, changed many of his beliefs on moral life and women's rights. Mill states that On Liberty "was more on liberty essay and literally our joint production than anything else which bears my name. The final draft was nearly complete when his wife died suddenly in John Stuart Mill opens his essay by discussing the historical "struggle between authority and liberty," [8] describing the tyranny of government, which, in his view, needs to be controlled by the liberty of the citizens.
He divides this control of authority into two mechanisms: necessary rights belonging to citizens, and the "establishment of constitutional checks by which the consent of the community, or of a body of some sort, supposed to represent its interests, was made a necessary condition to some of the more important acts of the governing power. small population and constant warit was forced to accept rule "by a master. Mill admits that this new form of society seemed immune to tyranny because "there was no fear of tyrannizing over self. First, even in democracy, the rulers were not always the same sort of people as the ruled. In Mill's view, tyranny of the majority is worse than tyranny of government because it is not limited to a on liberty essay function.
Where one can be protected from a tyrant, it is much harder to be protected "against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling. Mill's proof goes as follows: the majority opinion may not be the correct opinion. The on liberty essay justification for a person's preference for a particular moral belief is that it is that person's preference. On a particular issue, people will align themselves either for or against that issue; the side of greatest volume will prevail, but is not necessarily correct. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant Over himself, over his body and mind, the individual is sovereign.
Mill clarifies that this standard is solely based on utilitynot on natural rights. Mill concludes the Introduction by discussing what he claimed were the three basic liberties in order of importance: [18], on liberty essay. While Mill admits that these freedoms could—in certain situations—be pushed aside, he claims that in contemporary and civilised societies there is no justification for their removal. In the on liberty essay chapter, J. Mill attempts to prove his claim from the first chapter that opinions ought never to be suppressed. on liberty essay belief] occurs, is altogether an evil; but it is one from which we cannot hope to be always exempt, and must be regarded as the price paid for an inestimable good. First, if any opinion is compelled to silence, that opinion may, for aught we can certainly know, be true.
To deny this is to assume our own infallibility. Secondly, though the silenced opinion be an error, it may, and very commonly does, contain a portion of truth; and since the general or prevailing opinion on any subject is rarely or never the whole truth, it is only by on liberty essay collision of adverse opinions that the remainder of the truth has any chance of being supplied. Thirdly, on liberty essay, even if the received opinion be not only true, but the whole truth; unless it is suffered to be, and actually is, vigorously and earnestly contested, it will, by most of those who receive it, be held in the on liberty essay of a prejudice, with little comprehension or feeling of its rational grounds.
And not only this, but, fourthly, the meaning of the doctrine itself will be in danger of being lost, or enfeebled, and deprived of its vital effect on the character on liberty essay conduct: the dogma becoming a mere formal profession, inefficacious for good, but cumbering the ground, and preventing the growth of any real and heartfelt conviction, from reason or personal experience. Mill spends a large portion of the chapter discussing implications of and objections to the policy of never suppressing opinions. Therefore, Mill concludes that suppression of opinion based on belief in infallible doctrine is dangerous. On liberty essay the third chapter, J. Mill points out the inherent value of individuality since individuality is ex vi termini i.
by definition the thriving of the human person through the higher pleasures. He states that he fears that Western civilization approaches this well-intentioned conformity to praiseworthy maxims characterized by the Chinese civilization. Rather, the person behind the action and the action together are valuable. It really is of importance, not only what men do, but also what manner of men they are that do it. Among the works of man, which human life is rightly employed in perfecting and beautifying, the first in importance surely is man himself. Supposing it were possible to get houses built, corn grown, battles fought, causes tried, on liberty essay, and even churches erected and prayers said, by machinery—by automatons in human form—it would be a considerable loss to exchange for these automatons even the men and women who at present inhabit the more civilised parts of the world, on liberty essay, and who assuredly are but starved specimens of what nature on liberty essay and will produce.
Human nature is not a machine to be built after a model, and set to do exactly the work prescribed for it, but a tree, which requires to grow and develop itself on all sides, according to the tendency of the inward forces which make it a living thing, on liberty essay. In the fourth chapter, J, on liberty essay. Mill explains a system in which a person can discern what aspects of life should be governed by the individual and which by society. In such a situation, "society has jurisdiction over [the person's conduct].
Rather, he argues that this liberal system will bring people to the good more effectively than physical or emotional coercion. Governments, he claims, should only punish a person for neglecting to fulfill a duty to others or causing harm to othersnot the vice that brought about the neglect, on liberty essay. Mill spends the rest of the chapter responding to objections to his maxim. He notes the objection that he contradicts himself in granting societal interference with youth because they are irrational but on liberty essay societal interference with certain adults though they act irrationally.
Where some may object that there is justification for certain religious prohibitions in a society dominated by that religion, he argues that members of the majority ought make rules that they would accept should they have been the minority, on liberty essay. For example, on liberty essay, a Muslim state could feasibly prohibit pork. However, Mill still prefers a policy of society minding its own business. This last chapter applies the principles laid out in the previous sections. He begins by summarising these principles:. The maxims are, first, that the individual is not accountable to society for his actions, in so far as these concern the interests of no person but himself. Advice, instruction, persuasion, and avoidance by other people if thought necessary by them for their own good, on liberty essay, are the only measures by which society can justifiably express its dislike or disapprobation of his conduct.
Secondly, that for such actions as are prejudicial to the interests of on liberty essay, the individual is accountable, and may be subjected either to social or to legal punishment, if society is of opinion that the one or the other is requisite for its protection, on liberty essay. Mill first applies these principles to the economy. He concludes that free markets are preferable to those controlled by governments. While it may seem, on liberty essay, because "trade is a social act," that the government ought intervene in the economy, Mill argues that economies function best when left to their own devices. Next Mill investigates in what ways a person may try to prevent harm. Second, he states that agents must consider whether that which can cause injury can cause injury exclusively.
Poison can cause harm. However, he points out that poison can also be used for good. Therefore, selling poison is permissible. alcoholhe sees no danger to liberty to require warning labels on the product. He considers the right course of action when an agent sees a person about to cross a condemned bridge without being aware of the risk. Mill states that because the agent presumably has interest in not crossing a dangerous bridge i. if he knew the facts concerned with crossing the bridge, he would not desire to cross the bridgeit is permissible to forcibly stop the person from crossing the bridge.
He qualifies the assertion stating that, if the means on liberty essay available, it is better to warn the unaware person. With regard to taxing to deter agents from buying dangerous products, he makes a distinction. He states that to tax solely to deter purchases is impermissible because prohibiting personal actions is impermissible and "[e]very increase of cost is a prohibition, to those whose means do not come up to the augmented price. Mill expands upon his principle of punishing the consequences rather than the personal action. He argues that a person who is empirically prone to act violently i. harm society from drunkenness i. a personal act should be uniquely restricted from the drinking. He further stipulates that repeat offenders should be punished more than first time offenders.
On the subject of fornication and gambling, Mill has no conclusive answer, stating, "[t]here are arguments on both sides. being a pimp or keeping a gambling house "should not be permitted. Mill continues by addressing the question of social interference in suicide. He states that the purpose of liberty is to allow a person to pursue their interest. Therefore, when a person intends to terminate their ability to have interests it is permissible for society to step in. In other words, a person does not have the freedom to surrender their freedom, on liberty essay. Mill believes that government run education is an evil because it would destroy diversity of opinion for all people to be taught the curriculum developed by a few. He states that they should enforce mandatory education through minor fines and annual standardised testing that tested only uncontroversial fact.
Kant and Locke. The worth of a State, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it; and a State which postpones the interests of their mental expansion and elevation, to a little more of administrative skill, or of that semblance of it which practice gives, in the details of business; a State which dwarfs its men, in order that they may be more docile instruments in its hands even for beneficial purposes—will find that with small men no great thing can really be accomplished; and that the perfection of machinery to which it has sacrificed everything, will in the end avail it nothing, for want of the vital power which, in order that the machine might work more smoothly, on liberty essay, it has preferred to banish.
On Liberty was enormously popular in the years following its publication. In more recent times, although On Liberty garnered adverse criticism, it has been largely received as an important classic of political thought for its ideas and accessibly lucid style. Denise Evans and Mary L. Onorato summarise the modern reception of On Libertystating: "[c]ritics regard his essay On Liberty as a seminal work in the development of British liberalism.
John Stuart Mill on Liberty I SOL Updates
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The subject of this Essay is not the so-called Liberty of the Will, so unfortunately opposed to the misnamed doctrine of Philosophical Ne-cessity; but Civil, or Social Liberty: the nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual. A question seldom stated, and hardly ever discussed, in general terms, butFile Size: KB In John Stuart Mill’s essay On Liberty, Mill states that individual liberty may be limited by only one thing: the self-preservation of society and other individuals. To that end, man must retain the liberty to act and think as he so chooses May 19, · In John Stuart Mill’s essay “On Liberty”, he explores the question of whether society has a right to suppress an individual’s expression and opinions. Mill’s states, “if all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind” (Mill, )
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