Liberty Of Thought And Expression In John Stuart Mill's On Liberty

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In chapter 2 of On Liberty John Stuart Mill argues in favor of liberty of thought and expression in the case of opinions and beliefs. He points out that opinions are structured as such that they are either true or false. If one adamantly believes that the opinion they hold is the truth they are assuming infallibility. Mill maintains that we should accept our mistakes. On the other hand he alludes to the notion that the admission of fallibility may lead to inaction. In the interest of Mills support of liberty and thought I will uncover his defense of false opinions and beliefs, examine the significance of one being able to openly listen to opposing arguments to one’s own opinions, and consider whether this would lead Mill to suggest that geocentrism or creationism should be taught along with mainstream scientific views. Mill defends liberty of thought and expression specifically those that are false for several reasons. One of the main reasons he upholds is that if a person possesses a false opinion one should not stifle or restrict this false belief as long as the person is willing to thoroughly discuss and put this belief to the test. Mill states that “if the cultivation of the understanding consists in one thing more that in another, it is surely in learning the grounds of one’s own opinion” (Mill, 1978). He maintains that if an individual is genuinely rational they, in order to keep the truth from being a dead dogma, must welcome anyone with opposing arguments against their beliefs. If we restrict the opinions of others, whether true or false, we can lose sight of what actually makes what we understand is true and why we believe it the truth. The notion that Mill holds is that the living truth is based on the basis of constant discussion. He contends that it is imperative that one must personally witness and experience the people who actively believe and will vigorously argue their opposing belief. Mill claims that if a person neglects to seek and listen to an opposing argument “he will never really possess himself of the portion of the truth which meets and removes that difficulty” (Mill, 1978). Not only by doing this will it help the person fully appreciate the full spectrum of his own belief but it will help in gaining a more rounded perspective of the subject as a whole. This open-mindedness may lead the individual to incorporate any grains of truth that the opposition may have had into their own opinion. Ultimately they obtain a better working knowledge of the truth. According to Mill “the truth of an opinion is part of its utility” (Mill, 1978). Insofar that Mill claims that it is important to seek out testimony of those with opposite views of your own in order to attain a better sense of the truth, I believe that Mill would say that geocentrism or creationism should …show more content…
Strictly on the basis of ongoing discussion he would argue that even though they are not thought of as current mainstream scientific theories they are a part of our history. In the case of the geocentrism theory it was once believed to be truth until it was proven wrong. Even so, Mill would contest that this belief and those that opposed it lead us to the heliocentric theory and then eventually to that of Einstein’s theory of relativity (NASA,

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