Mill Flashcards
When was on liberty written?
1859
What did john Stuart mill’s father raise him to be?
A strict utilitarian
What faults did Mill believe there were with utilitarianism
It was too unemotional and failed to capture or understand the higher pleasures
What social values contextualise on liberty?
Victorian values- an emphasis on hard work, thrift and respectable comportment and behaviour
How did Mill define liberty?
It encompasses both civil and social liberty. The nature and limits of the power of which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual
When did Mill believe society can exert authority?
Over behaviour that harms other people, anything else is an abrogation of individual freedom
What is the tyranny of the majority
Mill’s belief that in a democratic state, the majority of people can impose its will on a minority. Mill believe this behaviour is tyrannical when it violates a claim that the minority has as a member of society
What did Mill believe on liberty was about
The importance to man and society, of a large variety in types of character, and of giving full freedom to human nature to expand itself in innumerable and conflicting directions
What does Mill reject in on liberty
Attempts, through either legal coercion or social pressure to coerce people’s opinions and behaviour
What does Mill link liberty to?
The ability to progress and avoid social stagnation
What are the two reasons that liberty of opinion is valuable?
F1. The unpopular opinion may be right
2. If the opinion is wrong, refuting it will allow people to better understand their own opinions
What are the two reasons why Mill supports liberty of action
The nonconformist may be correct, or she may have a way of life that best suits her needs, if not anybody else’s
Nonconformists challenge social complacency, and keep society from stagnating
Why has mills work been criticised
Overly vague about the limits of liberty
Placing too much of an emphasis on the individual
Not making a useful distinction between actions that harm oneself, and actions that harm others
