‘On Liberty’ Dinah Ward

‘On Liberty’ John Stuart Mill 1859 philosopher political economist politician

John Stuart Mill’s ideas today James Mill Childhood Youth ‘On Liberty’ ‘Liberty of expression’ ‘Liberty of taste and pursuits’ John Stuart Mill’s ideas today ‘Liberty of expression’ – racism ‘Liberty of taste and pursuits’ - wearing the hijab

James Mill 1773-1836 Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism Utility: usefulness What is a good action? Religion? Principles? Feelings? The action with the best outcome

Utilitarian government What is a good action for a government? Religion? Principles? Feelings? The action with the best outcome Whatever creates the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people

1806: birth of John Stuart Mill What is the best way to bring up children? The method with the best outcome

A knowledgeable and rational person A person whose aim is to improve society

John Stuart Mill’s education Taught to read as soon as he could speak Started Greek at three By eight had read six books of Plato

John Stuart Mill’s education summaries: oral, then written later studied logic, political economy and science

John Stuart Mill aged 20 Knowledgeable in many areas Logical, analytical mind Competent writer and speaker Dedicated utilitarian

John Stuart Mill aged 20 ‘a mere reasoning machine’

Feelings Play Imagination

British Romantic poets: Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley German thinkers: Goëthe, Schiller

John Stuart Mill ‘On Liberty’ 1859 Collaborator: Harriet Taylor Mill

Key ideas ‘Liberty of expression’ ‘Liberty of tastes and pursuits’

‘Liberty of expression’ ‘Even if everyone agreed about something except one person – that person should still have the right to voice their opinion’. ‘Robbing someone of that right is robbing the whole human race’.

1) Minority opinion might be true Opinions change over time ‘Just as we now think that the beliefs of people in the past were wrong and ridiculous, so people in the future will judge our beliefs’.

2) Minority opinion may be partly true ‘It is only by the collision of adverse opinions that the remainder of the truth has any chance of being supplied’. ‘In an imperfect state of the human mind, the interests of truth require diversity of opinions’.

3) Even wrong beliefs are useful Arguments that are never opposed become weak Arguing against opposing beliefs forces us to be clear about our own

4) Argument is important ‘No one can be a great thinker who does not recognise, that as a thinker it is his first duty to follow his intellect to whatever conclusions it may lead’. . ……………………. 4) Argument is important

‘Liberty of tastes and pursuits’ ‘Just as it is useful that . . . there should be different opinions, so it is that there should be different experiments of living’ ‘Free scope should be given to varieties of character . . . and the worth of different modes of life should be proved practically, when any one thinks fit to try’.

‘Human beings are not like sheep – and even sheep are not indistinguishably alike’

‘The same mode of life is healthy to one, and a crushing burden to another.’

‘Diversity is not an evil, but a good’.

Social impact of diversity ‘The amount of eccentricity in a society is proportional to the amount of genius . . . it contains’. Social impact of diversity Society needs genius if it is to develop Genius is originality in thought and action Genius is often eccentric ‘Genius can only breathe freely in an atmosphere of freedom’.

Social impact of diversity ‘There are many people who consider as an injury to themselves any conduct which they have a distaste for, and resent it as an outrage to their feelings’ Social impact of diversity ‘A person’s taste is as much his own peculiar concern as his opinion or his purse’.

Social impact of diversity . . . even though, as it may appear to the majority, some should be for the worse’ ‘It is good that there should be differences, even if not for the better . . .

‘The human faculties of perception, judgement, discriminative feeling, mental activity and even moral preference are exercised only in making a choice’.

‘On Liberty’ summary People should be allowed to express their opinions People should be allowed to control their own behaviour

Harm to others? People cannot be allowed to harm others Whatever does not harm others should be allowed

‘On Liberty’ in the modern world blasphemy laws pornography laws political expression gay rights alternative lifestyles varied family structure women’s rights

Liberty in the modern world – freedom of expression Free expression for racists?

Liberty in the modern world – freedom of expression

Liberty in the modern world – freedom of expression

‘Even opinions lose their immunity . . . . . . when their expression may be a positive instigation to some mischievous act’.

Liberty in the modern world – freedom of action

Liberty in the modern world – freedom of action Britain needs 'national debate' about banning Muslim girls from wearing veils in public Pupils ordered to wear hijab out of school

‘Human beings become a noble and beautiful object of contemplation . . ., not by wearing down into uniformity all that is individual in themselves . . . , but by cultivating individuality and calling it forth’.

should we allow people to express racist ideas freely? should teenage girls be allowed to choose whether they wear the hijab at school?