John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill (May 20, 1806 – May 8, 1873), an English philosopher and political economist, was an influential classical liberal thinker of the 19th century. He was an advocate of utilitarianism, the ethical theory first proposed by his godfather Jeremy Bentham.

Biography

John Stuart Mill was born in Pentonville, London, the eldest son of the Scottish philosopher, economist and historian James Mill. Mill was educated by his father, with the advice and assistance of Jeremy Bentham and Francis Place. He was given an extremely rigorous upbringing, and was deliberately shielded from association with boys his own age. His father, a follower of Bentham and an adherent of associationism, had as his explicit aim to create a genius intellect that would carry on the cause of utilitarianism and its implementation after he and Bentham were dead.

Related Topics:
Pentonville - London - Scottish - James Mill - Jeremy Bentham - Francis Place - Associationism - Utilitarianism

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His feats as a child were exceptional; at the age of three he was taught the Greek alphabet and long lists of Greek words with their English equivalents. By the age of eight he had read Aesop's Fables, Xenophon's Anabasis, and the whole of Herodotus, and was acquainted with Lucian, Diogenes Laërtius, Isocrates and six dialogues of Plato (see his Autobiography). He had also read a great deal of history in English and had been taught arithmetic.

Related Topics:
Greek alphabet - Aesop's - Fables - Xenophon - Anabasis - Herodotus - Lucian - Diogenes Laërtius - Isocrates - Plato - Arithmetic

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A contemporary record of Mill's studies from eight to thirteen is published in Bain's sketch of his life. It suggests that his autobiography rather understates the amount of work done. At the age of eight he began learning Latin, Euclid, and algebra, and was appointed schoolmaster to the younger children of the family. His main reading was still history, but he went through all the Latin and Greek authors commonly read in the schools and universities at the time. He was not taught to compose either in Latin or in Greek, and he was never an exact scholar; it was for the subject matter that he was required to read, and by the age of ten he could read Plato and Demosthenes with ease. His father's History of India was published in 1818; immediately thereafter, about the age of twelve, John began a thorough study of the scholastic logic, at the same time reading Aristotle's logical treatises in the original language. In the following year he was introduced to political economy and studied Adam Smith and David Ricardo with his father--ultimately completing their classical economic view of factors of production.

Related Topics:
Bain - Latin - Euclid - Algebra - Greek - Plato - Demosthenes - 1818 - Scholastic - Logic - Aristotle - Political economy - Adam Smith - David Ricardo - Classical economic view - Factors of production

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In 1823 he co-founded the Westminster Review with Jeremy Bentham as a journal for philosophical radicals.

Related Topics:
1823 - Westminster Review - Jeremy Bentham

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This intensive study however had injurious effects on Mill's mental health, and state of mind. At the age of 21 he suffered a nervous breakdown; as explained in chapter V of his Autobiography, this was caused by the great physical and mental arduousness of his studies which had suppressed any feelings or spirituality he might have developed normally in childhood. Nevertheless, this depression eventually began to dissipate, as he began to find solace in the poetry of William Wordsworth, and in the company of Harriet Taylor. His capacity for emotion resurfaced, Mill remarking that the "cloud gradually drew off".

Related Topics:
Nervous breakdown - Feeling - Spirituality - William Wordsworth - Harriet Taylor

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Mill worked for the British East India Company, but he was also a Liberal member of Parliament. Mill advocated easing the burdens on Ireland, and basically worked for what he considered reason. In Considerations on Representative Government Mill called for various reforms of Parliament and voting, especially proportional representation and the extension of suffrage. He was godfather to Bertrand Russell.

Related Topics:
British East India Company - Liberal - Parliament - Ireland - Proportional representation - Suffrage - Bertrand Russell

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In 1851 Mill married Harriet Taylor after 21 years of friendship. Taylor was a significant influence on Mill's work and ideas during both friendship and marriage. His relationship with Harriet Taylor inspired Mill's advocacy of women's rights.

Related Topics:
1851 - Harriet Taylor - Women's rights

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