Liberty of Thought and Discussion
“The liberty of thought and discussion”
By
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill: John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), British philosopher, economist, great liberal (or libertarian), moral and political theorist, and administrator, was the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century. His views are of continuing significance, and are generally recognized to be among the deepest and certainly the most effective defenses of empiricism and of a liberal political view of society and culture. The overall aim of his philosophy is to develop a positive view of the universe and the place of humans in it, one which contributes to the progress of human knowledge, individual freedom and human well-being. His views are not entirely original, having their roots in the British empiricism of John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume, and in the utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham. But he gave them a new depth, and his formulations were sufficiently articulate to gain for them a continuing influence among a broad public.
Mill's most famous work in social and political philosophy, and still one of the most influential works on human rights and freedom, is his book-length essay entitled On Liberty, which we will now summarize, using Mill's own section headings.
Introduction of the essay:
The main point of this essay is to argue that the only justification for society limiting the liberty of an individual, whether by the government or the force of public opinion, is to prevent harm to others. If the purpose instead is his own good, or some other goal, then only persuasion and non-coercive means can be justified.
Mill believed that an individual had two aspects to his life
1) The individual had two aspects which concerned him alone
2) The social because every individual was also an integral part of society. The actions of the individual may similarly be divided into two categories 1)self-regarding and2)other regarding with regard to actions in
By
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill: John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), British philosopher, economist, great liberal (or libertarian), moral and political theorist, and administrator, was the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century. His views are of continuing significance, and are generally recognized to be among the deepest and certainly the most effective defenses of empiricism and of a liberal political view of society and culture. The overall aim of his philosophy is to develop a positive view of the universe and the place of humans in it, one which contributes to the progress of human knowledge, individual freedom and human well-being. His views are not entirely original, having their roots in the British empiricism of John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume, and in the utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham. But he gave them a new depth, and his formulations were sufficiently articulate to gain for them a continuing influence among a broad public.
Mill's most famous work in social and political philosophy, and still one of the most influential works on human rights and freedom, is his book-length essay entitled On Liberty, which we will now summarize, using Mill's own section headings.
Introduction of the essay:
The main point of this essay is to argue that the only justification for society limiting the liberty of an individual, whether by the government or the force of public opinion, is to prevent harm to others. If the purpose instead is his own good, or some other goal, then only persuasion and non-coercive means can be justified.
Mill believed that an individual had two aspects to his life
1) The individual had two aspects which concerned him alone
2) The social because every individual was also an integral part of society. The actions of the individual may similarly be divided into two categories 1)self-regarding and2)other regarding with regard to actions in