On Liberty by John Stuart Mill PDF
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John Stuart Mill
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This document is a presentation or lecture on the philosophy of John Stuart Mill, exploring his concept of liberty and the harm principle, as well as different types of harm. Discussions related to autonomy, private property, and colonialism are some of the concepts mentioned in this presentation.
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On Liberty John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill Utilitarianism James Mill Series of magazine articles Autonomy Utilitarian argument for respecting autonomy Autonomy is intrinsically valuable The Harm Principle Government should not infringe on anyone’s liberty unless that person is causing harm to...
On Liberty John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill Utilitarianism James Mill Series of magazine articles Autonomy Utilitarian argument for respecting autonomy Autonomy is intrinsically valuable The Harm Principle Government should not infringe on anyone’s liberty unless that person is causing harm to others Defining Harm Criticize in print Incite an angry mob Types of Harm Physical Emotional? Psychological? Verbal? Counterexamples Yuck reactions Voluntary amputation Consensual cannibalism Public nudity? Private property This leaves individuals free to engage in business As long as others sign a contract and it is not violated no one is harmed? A few can amass wealth Mill and Colonialism Had ties to the British East India company Thought increasing the happiness of everyone was a long term social project Needed an educated population before you could promote individual liberty Just a paternalistic excuse for colonialism? Discussion What would Plato and Thomas Aquinas think of the harm principle? What would Rousseau think of the harm principle? Should we adhere to the harm principle today? What counts as a harm? Should we have seat belt laws, motorcycle helmet laws, and public campaigns against smoking? Aren’t these prohibited under the harm principle? If we don’t adhere to the harm principle, do we risk having arbitrary yuck reactions of majorities opposed on minorities?
