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In Defense Of John Stuart Mill's On Liberty

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The question of man's individual freedom and liberty weighing against the dictates of rulers has steadily endured in discussion since the Age of Enlightenment, and while many Western philosophers have pondered the limits of this question, this issue remains hotly debated even today. This age-old question of how to properly balance man's rights to liberty with his obedience under authority has persisted since ancient times1. Those who have probed these ideas have laid the foundations for liberalism as an ideal. The main argument of the liberal philosopher John Stuart Mill's On Liberty is of the need for individuals to have a proper balance of liberties and freedoms in life juxtaposed with deference and respect for laws and institutions in place. Mill was correct in his assertions that liberty and freedoms for the individual would be the driving force in countering the stagnation of society. Mill seeks to solve the problem …show more content…

Mill makes the argument that men will eventually oppress themselves through the tyranny of the majority.8 Furthermore, minority groups and perhaps ethnic groups would have their needs overwhelmed by the majority group, similar to a tyrant's control. Whereas the prevailing opinions of the time may certainly be incorrect and to an extent ignorant, there also needs to be protections against the tyranny of the prevailing feelings and opinions of society9. Constitutional measures in terms of checks and balances serve as a counter-measure for America, as well as the federal government disallowing tyranny through its separation of the minority and majority. Other ways to curtail tyranny of the majority would be to allow more votes to the rich or elite, and proportional

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Liberty is the foundation that our nation is built upon. In his essay, On Liberty, John Stewart Mill addresses the issue of liberty, and more specifically, the principles relating to it. As a student myself, I have bear witness to the controversial laws that require mandatory school attendance. As a Connecticut resident, our schools were required to be in session for no less than 181 days; students were not allowed to miss more than 10 sessions of each of their classes. Letters are sent home warning parents of the serious repercussions that would not only be applied to their child, but to the parents themselves.

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An alternative option, supported by Mill and anti-Eyre movements for example, was therefore one questioning the generalised method of oppressing people and crushing riots when any occurred. Rather, it preventively advocated for an equal treatment of all regardless of race in order to avoid embittering impressions of

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Over the decades, minorities were victims of liberty oppression by societies where the sense of freedom was limited and was only allowed for powerful groups. Minorities had to fight for a right that they owned since birth, but it was taken away from them by the misuse of authority. Two fundamental supporters of individual liberty and human rights were Martin Luther King and John Stuart Mill, helping minorities acquiring self-development in a world where injustice is continuous and regulations only serve those who can take advantage of them. Their approaches to individual freedom agreed in how freedom should be practiced in order to be justice or unjust.

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In Judith Shklar’s well known 1989 essay, The Liberalism of Fear, Shklar analyzes her view on political liberalism. In other words, Judith believes that liberalism has only one potential purpose/goal. Judith Shklar mentions how the goal for liberalism is to ultimately fix the political conditions which is significant for personal freedom. Using this idea, Judith Shklar further demonstrates her views on liberalism by comparing liberalism of fear and other types of liberalism in her essay ( such as John Locked John Stuart Mill) . Judith Shklar believes that John Locke’s liberalism of natural rights is simply an attempt to fulfill an determined standard order “The liberalism of natural rights envisages a just society composed of politically sturdy citizens, each able and willing to stand up for himself and others” (26-27).

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In this essay, I will discuss John Stuart Mill’s argument concerning government in relation to utilitarianism, and why freedom of speech is important. Utilitarianism is a form of philosophy that relies on moral systematic theories, which include principles that offer discussion. Utilitarianism is considered to be a version of consequentialism, which is that the morality of an action is determined exclusively by appeal to its consequences. The foundation that forms the premise of utilitarianism is contingent on two parts. One being from an account of utility or what is intrinsically good.

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In a sense, this means electing laws through majority rules, but while still maintaining minority rights. This essentially comes down to respecting the rights of all citizens, no matter the person’s view on polygamy. This idea is described through Mill’s harm

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On Liberty, Utilitarianism, and Other Essays by John Stuart Mill as a whole shows the influence that society as a whole has on a person. In the eyes of John Stuart Mill, the meaning of liberty is a way of protection from government and politicians. In Chapter one, it is shown that the government was limited through immunities and constitutional checks. The theory that makes John Stuart Mill so known is his theory of tyranny of a majority and the big question that he asks himself and wants to answer is where do we draw the line for public opinion and a citizen’s independence. In addition if we want to have an opinion, reason is necessary.

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Throughout Mill’s essay, he argues against the oppressive tyranny of the government in silencing the opinions of others. He warns that “there needs to be protection also against the tyrant of the prevailing opinion of feeling; against the tendency of society to impose… its own ideas on those who dissent from them” (Mill 9). Mill justifies this statement by explaining that limiting government interference in the life of the individual ensures the absence of despotism or, in other words, tyranny (Mill 9). From a political/philosophical standpoint, allowing individuals to speak freely affords others the ability to be challenged and through this one can eliminate falsehoods and discover the truth in society in ways that tyranny denies (Mill 19). Mill’s view on truth, social progress, and utility are fully in accordance with my own.

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Despite this, society does bind us to looking out for individual’s rights. Although these are not something discovered by the laws of nature as others have thought before him, they are simply determined by human convention through tacit understanding. Therefore, if an individual’s conduct were to affect another’s rights then society would have jurisdiction but if one’s actions do not, then they should be left to freedom, both legally and socially. With this in mind, Mill believed that leaving people to themselves will make them happier than forcing obedience of society’s morals, but does government have any legitimate role in helping individuals? Mill thought that government interference should be limited in order to reduce the unnecessary power that it would be given, giving assurance to individual rights and

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John Stuart Mill was an English philosopher and an influential political theorist. In his great work, On Liberty, demonstrated the harm principle. Along with the harm principle, there is a great question among the text. The question is, why should heresy be permitted? As a Christian, seeking the truth is hard due to many heresies that are in the world.

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In chapter one of Mill’s book “On Liberty” published 1859, he observes that freedom can be split into three types. Firstly, he mentions the liberty of thought and opinion. The second type is the liberty of tastes and pursuits and the freedom we have to plan our own lives. Thirdly, there is the liberty to strive for a common purpose with other like-minded people without harming anyone. According to Mill each type “must be recognized and respected by any free society.”

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Throughout J.S. Mill’s On Liberty, he claims that one must think critically about the policies and norms of one’s society, and consider the “harm principle” in its regards to one’s individual liberties. He goes forth to justify that his principle is not bounded to a strict interpretation because the norms in one society during a specific time would greatly differ from a separate society in another time. His claim is especially imperative and relevant to the present day because of the current issues of liberty regarding international adoption. Though the ideas Mill discusses in On Liberty are applicable to present day, they should serve as guidelines rather than restrictions because of the situational controversies in adoption.

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Introduction: John Stuart Mill essay on Consideration On representative Government, is an argument for representative government. The ideal form of government in Mill's opinion. One of the more notable ideas Mill is that the business of government representatives is not to make legislation. Instead Mill suggests that representative bodies such as parliaments and senates are best suited to be places of public debate on the various opinions held by the population and to act as watchdogs of the professionals who create and administer laws and policy.

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In a question of which moral vision is ‘better’, it can be argued from a naturalist outlook that the law would aspire to conform with the moral vision that reflects the common good of the society in which it is being used. Law reflecting moral vision is a theme that has been explored from a libertarian view by John Stuart Mill and Herbert Lionel Adolphus Hart. According to Mill, ‘the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number is self protection.’ The 19th century philosopher believed that the right to individual freedom is

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In a time where Freedom of Speech has caused many controversial debates, it has become essential to understand the value of this freedom in our society. Although Freedom of Speech certainly comes with its downsides, it plays a necessary function to humans in nature as well as our government because it allows for moral comparisons and subjectivity. “Whatever can be proved to be good, must be so by being shown to be as a means to something admitted to be good without proof”, (Mill p.3). Here Mill begins to introduce the root cause for utilitarianism, which he depicts in this section as the ideology to follow whatever action benefits the majority. He does so by supporting the notion that disagreement and scrutiny between moral beliefs allows

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