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.

Work

One foundational book on the concept of liberty was On Liberty, about the nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual. One argument that Mill formed was the harm principle, that is, people should be free to engage in whatever behavior they wish as long as it does not harm others.

Related Topics:
On Liberty - Harm principle

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John Stuart Mill only speaks of negative liberty in On Liberty, a concept formed and named by Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997). Isaiah Berlin suggests that negative liberty is an absence or lack of impediments, obstacles or coercion. This is in contrast with his other idea of positive liberty, a capacity for behavior, and the presence of conditions for freedom, be they material resources, a level of enlightenment, or the opportunity for political participation.

Related Topics:
Negative liberty - Isaiah Berlin - 1909 - 1997 - Positive liberty

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Thus Mill argued that it is Government's role only to remove the barriers, such as laws, to behaviors that do not harm others.

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Mill's magnum opus was his A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive, which went through several revisions and editions. In particular, the eighth edition, in 1872, had several new and controversial information and supplements added. There he evaluates Aristotle's categories and gives his own system. He gives his theory of terms and propositions and focuses on the inductive process. William Whewell's History of the Inductive Sciences (1837) was a chief influence.

Related Topics:
A System of Logic - Aristotle - William Whewell - 1837

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The reputation of this work is largely due to his analysis of inductive proof, in contrast to Aristotle's syllogisms, which are deductive. Mill formulates five methods of induction -- the method of agreement, the method of difference, the joint or double method of agreement and difference, the method of residues, and that of concomitant variations. The common feature of these methods, the one real method of scientific inquiry, is that of elimination. All the other methods are thus subordinate to the method of difference. It was also Mill's attempt to postulate a theory of knowledge, in the same vein as John Locke.

Related Topics:
Theory of knowledge - John Locke

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