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John Stuart Mill British-Political Philosopher (1806-1873)
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John Stuart MillBritish-Political Philosopher (1806-1873)Mill’s early life is sketched out in his Autobiography. His education, initially at the hands of his father, later largely on his own, has received a significant amount of attention. Mill’s father led him to formulate opinions which brought together ideas and facts. He was also taught to express those opinions in a persuasive way. He was educated in isolation, except from his younger sisters and brothers, until he went to France at the age of fourteen. To understand Mill requires an examination of: (1) truth, (2) a priori knowledge, (3) democratic government, (4) utilitarianism, (5) science, and (6) application to debate. At the center of Mill’s philosophy is the search for truth. Mill’s philosophy was heavily influenced by his main teachers, his father and Jeremy Bentham. Mill was one of the few who found it easy to sympathize with the hopes and plans of those younger than himself. So, while he borrowed and assimilated much from James Mill and Bentham, his was not the age of the philosophies and the French Revolution, but of Romanticism and Reform. Mill wrote on numerous topics in philosophy. For example, he is remembered for his System Of Logic, where he outlines the limits and nature of meaningful discussion. His On Liberty is even more famous. Here he related individual liberties to those of the state and argued that civil restrictions on individual liberties were only permissible if they were absolutely necessary to prevent harm in others. Mill argues that the people who exercise power are not the same as those over whom it is exercised. Mill argues that he “self-government” is not an individualistic government, but that of the collective. The will of the people, moreover, practically means the will of the most numerous or the most active part of the people; the people, consequently, may desire to oppress a part of their number: and precautions are as much needed against this, as against any other abuse of power. Democratic government is not immune to tyranny of the majority. Mill inherited the ideas of Utilitarianism from his father James Mill, an ardent disciple of Bentham. Utilitarianism is defined as: The greatest good for the greatest number in the long term. Mill abandons the view that the comparison between pleasures is or can be purely quantitative. He introduces a qualitative distinction between the higher and lower pleasures. The higher pleasures are to be preferred: better Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. He meant that pleasure is qualitatively as well as quantitatively different. For example, Mill argued that freedom of speech and freedom of political thought, and the emancipation of women and equality before the law are all good utilitarian principles. Mill attempts to answer some of the criticisms of utilitarianism in that it doesn’t work in practice; One does not know what creates happiness and that it ignores the questions of Motives. Mill argued that problems not strictly “scientific” must be solved before practice can begin. The means must be tested against the readiness of the people (can the young man drive?), against the practical difficulties, and against the end. Whether or not the means are put into practice at all depends--and Mill is clear about this--on a successful passing of these tests, and it makes no difference whether the human who imposes them is called Scientist or Artist. If, when Mill denied himself practical competence, he was referring to practical testing, he was certainly under-estimating his powers, for one of the strongest marks of his thought is his constant awareness that schemes must be in accord with people’s capabilities, must be feasible, and must be consonant with their ends--that is, in most cases, must be moral. There is much that Mill may add to the debater interested in discussing values. Initially, the debater could integrate utilitarianism into the criteria. The assumption would be that the value/action that promotes the greatest good for the greatest number of people would be beneficial. In addition, utilitarianism could be a counter-criteria if the affirmative is providing a less acceptable lens. Moreover, the debater could use Mill to discuss the notion of justice. Mill argues that at the center of our current world is the conception of justice. That is, political, social, and individual institutions need to be concerned with how justice is implemented and how the value of justice influences everyday life. Mill argues that justice should be at the center of our institutions. Therefore, the debater could support the value of justice as the primary value. BibliographyEugene R. August. JOHN STUART MILL: A MIND AT LARGE. New York: Scribner, 1975. John B. Ellery. JOHN STUART MILL. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1964. Peter 1. Glassman. J.S. MILL: THE EVOLUTION OF A GENIUS. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1985. Joseph Hamburger. INTELLECTUALS IN POLITICS: JOHN STUART MILL AND THE PHILOSOPHIC RADICALS. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965. Samuel Hollander. THE ECONOMICS OF JOHN STUART MILL. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985. Michael Lame. ed. A CULTIVATED MIND: ESSAYS ON J.S. MILLS PRESENTED TO JOHN M. ROB SON. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1991. Henry John McCloskey. JOHN STUART MILL: A CRITICAL STUDY. London: Macmillan, 1971. James McCosh. AN EXAMINATION OF MR. J.S. MILL’S PHILOSOPHY: BEING A DEFENCE OF FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH. New York: R. Carter, 1866. Bruce Mazlish. JAMES AND JOHN STUART MILL: FATHER AND SON IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. New York: Basic Books, 1975. John Stuart Mill. AUGUSTE COMTE AND POSITIVISM. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1961. John Stuart Mill. AUTOBIOGRAPHY. New York: H. Milford Press, 1924. John Stuart Mill. CONSIDERATIONS ON REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT. New York: H. Holt & Co., 1873. John Stuart Mill. THE CONTEST IN AMERICA. Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1862. John Stuart Mill. DISSERTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS: POLITICAL, PHILOSOPHICAL, AND HISTORICAL. London: John W. Parker, 1859. John Stuart Mill. ESSAYS ON POLITICS AND CULTURE. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1962. John Stuart Mill. ESSAYS ON SOME UNSETI1ED QUESTIONS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. London: Aldwych, 1948. John Stuart Mill. AN EXAMINATION OF SIR WILLIAM HAMILTON’S PHILOSOPHY AND OF THE PRINCIPAL PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS DISCUSSED IN HIS WRITINGS. London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts & Green, 1865. John Stuart Mill. ON LIBERTY. Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1863. John M. Robson. JOHN STUART MILL: A SELECTION OF HIS WORKS. New York: Odyssey Press, 1966. John M. Robson. THE IMPROVEMENT OF MANKIND: THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT OF JOHN STUART MILL. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1968. 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