Essay on Mills Principles in His Work On Liberty

Mills Principles in His Work On Liberty John Stuart Mill was born in London in 1806, the son of the philosopher James Mill. James Mill was a close friend of Jeremy Bentham, the founder of utilitarianism (the theory that states that the right course of action is the course which generates the most happiness). Bentham and James Mill educated J. S. Mill rigorously, to such an extent that he began reading Ancient Greek at age 3. He was reading Platos Dialogues at age 13 - in their original form. His father trained him in political economy, philosophy, the classics and many other intellectual subject areas. Mill was an active philosopher. He was a member of the philosophical radicals (a group†¦show more content†¦So therefore the LP must be applied to everyone in a society for it to be legitimate. The LP has many subsections which allow it to work; to just leave people free to do as they please does not make a society legitimate. In fact, this would horrify Mill, because he is particularly worried about the tyranny of the majority, and in this society an irrational majority could easily exact a tyranny upon the rational minority as there would be no safeguards or restraints. The LP is put into place to stop this happening. Mill is interested in the restrictions that law is allowed to place on people, but he is also interested in the moral and social pressure that can be exerted by society upon individuals. He doesnt want people to blindly follow custom.[1] One of the sections of the LP is the harm principle (HP). This principle states that there are two kinds of acts that a person can do. The first kind are self-regarding acts, which only affect the individual who is doing the self-regarding act, for example using drugs to get high alone in your house.[2] The other kind are other-regarding acts, which affect other people, for example shooting someone in the face. A society is only legitimate when it restricts other-regarding acts, and doesnt touch self-regarding acts, as these acts are part of the private sphere. There are problems with this however. As mentioned in theShow MoreRelated`` On Liberty `` By John Stuart Mill1458 Words   |  6 PagesEngland felt their liberties were being diminished because they had the ability to accomplish all the more but in some cases, could not. This was just one question of liberty brought up during the time Mill was developing intellectually (Sparks 186). Mill wrote many works that trifled with the idea of gender equality, government structure, and economic principles, to name a few. Perhaps one of his greatest and most influential pieces was one that was on the subject of liberty. â€Å"On Liberty† by John StuartRead MoreOn Liberty1318 Words   |  6 PagesOn John Stuart Mill’s production On Liberty has not only became one of the most widely known political and philosophical writing, but also produces one of the fundamental political questions on finding the balance in between liberty, democracy and authority. Although Mill’s writing was deeply influenced by Bentham’s Utilitarianism philosophy, Mill’s theory in On Liberty emphasized more around the value of individuality, equality and liberty (Donner, 1991; Skorupski, 1998). All three elements focusedRead MoreJohn Stuart Mill s On Liberty1700 Words   |  7 PagesJohn Stuart Mill’s â€Å"On Liberty† essay, published in 1859, portrays Mill’s perception of liberty wi th an emphasis on individuality. 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