JOHN STUART MILL Flashcards
Where do people put Mill’s work in context to liberalism?
The bridge between classical liberalism and modern liberalism and seen to represent ‘transitional liberalism’
What type of freedom did Mill come up with?
‘Negative Freedom’
What is ‘negative freedom’?
That freedom is mainly an absence of restraint
What did Mill divided human actions into?
‘self regarding’ and ‘other regarding’
What is self regarding?
A self-regarding action is one that (directly) affects only the human themselves
What is other regarding?
Other-regarding actions are those that harm others who are not rational, free, undeceived, consenting adults
Why did Mill want tolerance of diverse opinions?
Mill argued that because it would ensure new ideas emerged while bad ideas were exposed via open, rational debate
What did he see liberty as?
Not just a ‘natural right’ and an end itself but as the engine of ongoing human development
What did Mill mean with the term ‘‘individuality’?
Not just the liberation of the individuals but what the individual could become
What key things did Mill distinguish between?
‘individualism’ and ‘undividualirty’
What did he fear a democratic state had the potential to create
A tyranny of the majority
What is John Stuart Mills key work
On liberty
John Stuart Mills summary of views
On liberty outlined negative freedom and that peoples action should be accepted if they don’t affect others negatively
He believed that actions that included violent and riotous behaviour disrupted people’s freedom and therefore shouldn’t be allowed
He saw liberty as an “Engine of ongoing human development” rather than just a “natural light”
He wanted to not just liberate individuals but introduce “Individuality” instead to them
His distinction between “Individualism” and “individuality” would have implications for democracy and making up for the “Tyranny of the government”
Significance of John Stuart Mill
One of the greatest thinkers and philosophers. Was not just an intellectual but also a campaigner and politician
John Stuart Mills view of Human Nature
Though fundamentally rational, human nature is not fixed, it is forever evolving to a higher level
