Mill individuality essay - 2173 Words

Mills account of personal liberty ensures the development of the individual and society Assess the validity in this claim. Within Mills On Liberty it is clear that he has a high regard for the issues surrounding freedom and its limits. Mill is an advocate of negative freedom, as a liberal he believes that there should be no restraints on an individuals freedom unless it is hindering the freedom or health of another person. One of the main reasons as to why Mill values liberty is because it contributes to personal development. Thus Mill argues that in order for individuals to develop they should be able to perform experiments in living, which allow individuals to go through a system of trial and error until they find their own†¦show more content†¦Society will lose it means to progressing further. Mill talks about this to am extent in his chapter on democracy. He argues that in order for society to develop we need two opposing parties, one that is defined by tradition and pragmatism and the other by social progress. However, it can be argued that by giving people the means to be eccentrics you ar e threatening social order and putting society at whole at a risk ( the opposite of what Mill says his theory does). However , like most problems that surround the idea of negative liberty, mill would argue that as long as the experiment in living is within the limits of the harm principle them it should be allowed. This personal liberty not only provides people with a means to experiment their own ways of living, but also allows society to flourish as eccentricity and geniuses (provided by liberty) can enlighten individuals and governments into new ways of living. Furthermore, to treat human beings with no individuality and not provide them with a means of experimenting in their living, is to assume that they are all the same. Mill argues that we are all different in our desires and in what will make us happy. Imposing a specific lifestyle on all members of society would be like treating an orchid, sunflower and cactus all in the same way. The conditions in which the orchids thrive could kill the sunflower. Much like plants, human beings differShow MoreRelatedJohn Stuart Mill s On Liberty1700 Words   |  7 PagesMill’s â€Å"On Liberty† essay, published in 1859, portrays Mill’s perception of liberty with an emphasis on individuality. He explicitly states at the start of the essay that the main point is to â€Å"govern absolutely the dealings of society with the individual in the way of compulsion and control† (5). His push to establish the basic guidelines for the relationship between authority and liberty is a re sult of his ethical theory of utilitarianism. Throughout the course of this essay, Mill provides the readerRead MoreWhat Type Of Power Can Be Placed Onto A Society And Its People1212 Words   |  5 Pages The purpose of J.S. Mill’s essay is to examine what type of power can lawfully be placed onto a society and its people. Mill sought to explore this topic because he recognized the continual development of society and how circumstances change as society rapidly becomes more civilized. The object of his essay, stated in his introduction, is to argue that self-protection is the only instance in which individual liberty can be interfered. In chapter four, Mills goes on to explore these limits on individualRead MoreThe Age Of Reason Or Known As The Enlightenment1189 Words   |  5 Pageswith this, the Romantic movement came with a wave of romantic writers, such as, John Stuart Mill. Mill in particular identified with self-consciousness or individualism. 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Philosophers like Marx and Mill had a greatRead MoreWithin On Liberty By John Stuart Mill1312 Words   |  6 PagesWithin On Liberty by John Stuart Mill, the notion of individuali ty and one s abilities to make choices for himself contradicts the notion of evolution within Edward O. Wilson’s Consilience. Mill’s beliefs derive from social interaction and experience in which the individual can decide for himself what is right versus what is wrong and can act upon what he believes to be the best option. Whereas, Wilson’s views coincide with the idea that individuals generate decisions based off of historically discoveredRead MoreJohn Stuart Mill Essay1369 Words   |  6 Pagesprocess leads to an unequal society in which the rights of the people are restricted. In the essays, On Liberty and On Representative Government, written by John Stuart Mill, there is a concern for the tyranny of the majority. He expresses his concern in, On Liberty, by supporting an increase in individual liberties. It is expressed again in, On Representative Government, by promoting a true democracy. Mill proposes remedies for combating this tyranny of the majority, and further discusses theRead MoreTyranny And The Social Wellbeing Of Citizens1750 Words   |  7 Pagessociety. Such writers spanned from Alexis de Tocqueville, to John Stuart Mill, to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The interpretations and approaches taken to the subject of tyranny and how to protect against it, though, were as varied as the collection of authors who addressed it. From de Tocqueville’s stringent observations in Democracy in America, the concept of a purely political tyranny is delineated. In contrast, Mill’s essay On Liberty focuses on a particular strain of despotic oppression thatRead MoreOn Liberty1318 Words   |  6 PagesBentham’s Utilitarianism philosophy, Mill’s theory in On Liberty emphasized more around the value of individuality, equality and liberty (Donner, 1991; Skorupski, 1998). All three elements focused on by Mill, are closely connected in democratic society, Mill’s major fear was the emergence of dictatorship based on majoritarian and conformist behavior within a society (Skorupski, 2006). This essay will focus on examining Mill’s liberal ideas within On Liberty, his concept on the limitation of government’sRead MoreViews of Karl Marx and John Stuart Mill Essay examples1184 Words   |  5 Pagesothers of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. John Stuart Mill, On Liberty While, after reading the above two quotations, it may appear that Karl Marx and John Stuart Mill take seemingly opposing views on the proper relationship between an individual and his or her community, a closer reading of the texts of Marx and Mill reveals that both Marx and Mill articulate a much more nuanced view on the ideal relationship between man and his society. By firstRead MoreIndividualism And Liberty By John Stuart Mill1196 Words   |  5 Pages In the essay, Liberty, written by John Stuart Mill, Mill states that individualism is the theory that â€Å"[o]ver himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign† (7). Before coming to this conclusion, Mill first explains that individualism and liberty were defined in ways far different from definitions now and that true individualism did not exist until later in history. It takes him several paragraphs and even chapters to finally suggest that a man, by himself, is free to do what