John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mills faced the major question of how and when to limit the sway of public opinion over the individual liberty of the people. He discusses the concept of liberty, and the power society can hold over individuals. The concept of the Democratic Republic as used by the United States illustrates that people with power will use that power to enforce their will over those without power. Society will oppress the minority and can do so using public opinion rather than political means. Mills…

In order to understand the position of John Stuart Mill in both of these situations, one must recognize what he advocates. Therefore, it is reasonable to assess the concept of utilitarianism with his work, “Utilitarianism”. The rudimentary perception behind this philosophical notion is that deeds are ethically correct only if they produce the greatest overall amount of good for everyone, or in this case, happiness. This is otherwise known as, “the effects of things upon their happiness, the…

John Stuart Mills’ liberty principle states that the only justified use of force from a state is to prevent one individual from harming another. Unlike other views of how the state should wield power, such as paternalism, Mills states that protecting an individual from themselves is not an adequate justification for state intervention. As a follower of Jeremy Bentham, Mills attempted to justify his liberty principle with utilitarianism, rather than a natural rights justification, essentially…

Introduction: John Stuart Mill, although accepts the Radicals legacy in the utilitarian domain, he adds to and supplements their points of views, especially in the areas of human motivation and the true nature of happiness. When we read through Mill’s approach on happiness, we see how a lot of Radicals’ assumptions are modified, this can be seen in the second chapter of his essay: Utilitarianism. The Proportionality Doctrine is one of the most prominent concepts that emerge from his writing…

John Stuart Mill and Gerald Dworkin both have different perspectives of paternalism. As I have mentioned earlier, Mill is against paternalism and Dworkin claims that paternalism is justifiable. There are a few points in which both Dworkin and Mill make and I agree with some of those points, but I cannot agree with Dworkin on paternalism. Now to answer the question that was proposed earlier, is paternalism morally justified? And should it be implemented or not? In this case I would have to argue…

Bentham and his student, John Stuart Mill. And I think Mill’s qualitative hedonistic utilitarianism is more reasonable than the others. Qualitative hedonistic utilitarianism is mainly about higher level of pleasure. He sorts out the pleasures by the level of feeling. As the basic of his thought is from Bentham and his utilitarianism, it surely should think for pleasure for most people. But the difference is that Bentham emphasized quantity, but Mill focused on the quality. Mill said, “It is…

ways are Mary Wollstonecraft as well as John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor Mill. Before there can be an accurate understanding of how Wollstonecraft and the Mills contributed to liberal feminism, there needs to be a clear…

plan to explain and criticize the moral theory of act utilitarianism. In the history of utilitarianism John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was an important philosopher who in the 19th century was an important defender of personal liberty. When it comes Mills theories he has made a major impact on philosophical work and also an impact when it comes too things economically, politically, and socially. Mill defines utilitarianism as a theory that is based on the principle that "actions are right in…

John Stuart Mill's teleological perspective of Utilitarianism, guarantees that “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain and the privation of pleasure.” (Mill, p.54) This ethical theory emphasizes that as reasonable beings that naturally interact and are compelled to settle on choices every day, how those choices are established—our…

In John Stuart Mill’s book Utilitarianism, he explores what exactly it means to reach an end and how that end results in pleasure. Mill explains the importance and advantages of utilitarianism while also responding to misunderstandings about it. He believes in the greatest happiness principle and that if a society benefits from the impairment or disappointment of another because of a lack in obtaining a higher faculty, then this is okay because it is hedonic, in that it maximizes pleasure. Mill…