Negative liberty

A treatise on liberty and freedom of speech, John Stuart Mill’s 1859 book On Liberty employs philosophical thought to discuss the importance of liberty and when it is or is not right and proper for a government to limit it. In discussing liberty, Mill propositions the “harm principle,” a concept used throughout On Liberty to assess what rights and liberties mankind has, and when they ought to and ought not be curtailed by either the government or societal majorities, with which Mill is more…

John Stuart Mill, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau all addressed the issue of freedom and law within a society. Mill's “On Liberty”, and Rousseau’s discourse “On the Social Contract” are all absorbing fictional works which underline the concept of the ideal state of each in the eyes of both these men and present different visions of the very nature of man’s freedom and the law. The three have distinct views regarding how much freedom man ought to have in political society because they have different…

John Locke, a notable English philosopher has extensively written topics on human understanding and political government. However, John Locke was most significantly known for his book; Some Thoughts Concerning Education, which presents his theory on education and child development. In his book, Locke emphasizes moral education which stresses the importance of educating children by instilling values in them. He believes that the goal of education is not to create a scholar, instead a virtuous man…

William Whaley 14 October 2015 Political Theory On, Experiments of Living One of John Stuart Mill’s biggest contribution through his writings was his idea of the “experiments of living”. Mill made this contribution in his classic 1859 book, On Liberty. By “experiments of living” I believe Mill is saying to live life like a test tube; in Mill’s exact words, “different modes of life should be proved practically”. In other words, the ability to be able to do whatever you want, until it causes…

questions rise about bans and restrictions. When harm becomes involved, the issue of hate speech is often debated. The harm principle is the only purpose for with it is morally legitimate for government or public opinion to interfere with anyone’s liberty of action (including speech) is to prevent harm to others. Hate speech can lead to direct harm; it is important to restrict it. Although freedom of speech is important to the way our society is run, limitations need to be set. Without…

John Stuart Mill discusses his theory on human nature in On Liberty. Mill portrayed his belief of the Harm Principle, which can be presented as the following: as long as one’s actions are not harming another person, the government nor society should intrude. The Harm Principle also protects the three basic liberties of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom to pursue tastes. Mill believes that the government should have the interests and opinions of the public in mind. On top of…

and independence. “Nozick argued that respect for individual rights is the key standard for assessing state action and, hence, that the only legitimate state is a minimal state that restricts its activities to the protection of the rights of life, liberty, property, and contract” (Mack, Eric, Summer 2015 Edition). On the question of tar sands expansion, a libertarian would argue that we can prevent the expansion of the tar sands if the costs of preventing it are less than the benefits of doing…

its citizens and seek to restrict supposedly immoral and unjust acts. Thus if an act is to be considered immoral, it seems obvious to suggest that the government is justified in restricting it regardless of whether it is harmful to others. In ‘On Liberty' John Stuart Mill discusses the harm principle as: "The only purpose for which power can be rightly exercised over any member of a civilized community against his will, is to prevent harm to others” (68). Mill’s states that a government or…

been answered and debated by philosophers for years. Some of the most prominent arguments have been made by John Stuart Mill and John Locke. While both are strong about their stances their opinions differ. In John Stuart Mill’s second chapter of On Liberty he presents one overarching conclusion, that any censorship of expression of opinion must be completely prevented.…

In his book, “On Liberty”, John Stuart Mill makes an argument in favor of individual freedom for the betterment of both society and the individual. To justify his belief in individual freedom, Mill uses Utilitarianism. Individuality pushes society towards the adaptation of truth. Only through discussion does mankind become “capable of rectifying [its] mistakes” and able to find truth (Mill 1). In order for discussions to hold value, a multitude of beliefs and individual experiences are essential…