How Does John Stuart Mill Promote Happiness

John Stuart Mill as one of the most influential philosophers advocating liberalism points out the importance of freedom for individuals and therefore society. He thinks of freedom as an extrinsic value promoting happiness. As it will be shown, liberty as a mean to maximizing utility must not be restricted unless it causes harm to others or if the agent is not mature enough to exercise freedom properly.

Mill’s “Doctrine of Liberty is supported by a view of human happiness which in turn depends on his conception of human nature” (Gray, 190). As an utilitarian, he comprehends happiness as a value maximized by “utility in the largest sense, grounded on the permanent interests of man as a progressive being” (Mill, 31). Human nature therefore is to aim for improvement and advance in order become better in terms of maximizing utility, which then will result in happiness and a fulfilled living.

This process of maximizing happiness is according to Mill only possible if the state grantees its citizens absolute freedom in terms of self-regarding actions. He pleads for liberty of body and “liberty of thought and feeling; absolute freedom of opinion and sentiment on all subjects” (Mill, 33). Therefore,
In order for this to happen, they have to be free of coercion. As Mill puts it: “A person whose desires and impulses are his own – are the expression of his own nature, as it has been developed and modified by his won culture – is said to have a character” (Mill, 76). It is essentially those individuals with character who will use all of their human capacities. Once an individual’s character has been identified, he will be able to exercise his freedom of choice according to own interests and desires. This “exercise of freedom of choice is itself vital to the full development of human nature” (Wolff,