John Stuart Mill Flashcards
When was John Stuart Mill born? (1 mark).
1806
When did John Stuart Mill die? (1 mark)
1873
Who was John’s father, and what was his occupation/study? (2 marks)
James Mill, philosopher.
What lead to John’s nervous breakdown, and how old was John when this happened? (2 marks)
James Mill was very keen that his son should excel academically, leading to John’s breakdown in his early twenties.
After he recovered from his breakdown, what did John campaign for? (2 marks)
Social reforms, including women’s rights and the abolition of slavery.
Who were the two people who had major influences on John’s life? What was John’s father’s relationship with one of them? (3 marks)
Jeremy Bentham and John Austin. John’s father met and became a deep admirer of Bentham when John was only 2 years old.
What was Bentham’s teaching? What was his moral philosophy called, and what does it mean? (4 marks)
Bentham taught that society should be run on rational and scientific moral principles. His moral philosophy was called utilitarianism, which is the idea that laws and morals should be tested, to make sure they produce the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people.
By what age had John been taught Greek and Latin, and by what age had he read many of the Greek classics, including Plato’s dialogues? (2 marks)
3, and 6 years old.
Did John go to university? If not, why? (2 marks)
No. John’s father was a non-conformist, and most universities required its students to be members of the Church of England.
What part did John Austin play in John’s life? (3 marks)
He was a professor of law and family friend, and almost persuaded John to study law. But John gave this up after a couple of years, and joined the East India Company in 1823, which gave him both a steady income and time to read and write.
What was the main reason that in 1826, John had a breakdown? (3 marks)
John was deeply depressed, and and he realised that although Bentham’s view of society was perhaps still worth fighting for, he no longer felt motivated to be one of his followers. He thought that it was not enough for society to simply to seek to maximise pleasures, and that they needed a greater vision than this.
How did John manage to overcome his depression? (2 marks)
It was by reading the poetry of William Wordsworth. His sense of beauty and nature and how this makes human beings more compassionate to each other gave John a new vision for society.
What was John’s main argument in his book Utilitarianism? When did he write this book? (2 marks)
Utilitarianism (1863) argued that a utilitarian society must encourage the ‘higher pleasures’, such as art, music, poetry and philosophy. Without these, society would be greatly diminished.
What were two other books that John wrote, and what did they argue? (4 marks)
On Liberty (1858) argued that we can’t be truly happy unless we are free to make our own decisions. This is something that Bentham entirely overlooked. The Subjection of Women (1869) argued that without freedom of speech and expression we cannot be fulfilled and happy people. And that applies to all humans - not just men but women as well. It is obvious that men and women should have the same rights, access to education, opportunity to vote and opportunities in the workplace.
Did John ever fall in love? If so, who with? Describe the timeline. (4 marks)
Harriet Taylor and John met in 1830 and John knew immediately that, besides being beautiful, she was witty and highly intelligent. It was she who made him revise parts of On Liberty and inspired him to write The Subjection of Women. Harriet and John were close friends for twenty years and only able to marry when her husband died in 1851. Sadly, they were only married for seven years before Harriet died of tuberculosis in 1858.
