Discussed and debated from time immemorial, the concept of personal liberty went without codification until the publication of this enduring work which applies an ethical system of utilitarianism to society and the state which to this day remains well known and studied.
At the time it was published in 1859, John Stuart Mill's On Liberty was a radical and controversial work; it argued for the right of individuals to possess freedom from the state in moral and economic matters. Mill declares that "Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign", contrasting this with the "tyranny of the majority." He states that an individual can do anything they like as long as it doesn't harm another - the well-known...
This work is an expanded edition of Isaiah Berlin's classic of liberalism. Henry Hardy has incorporated a fifth essay, as Berlin wished, and added further pieces on the same topic, so that Berlin's statements on liberty are available together.
British philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill (1806–73) is the author of several essays, including Utilitarianism (1863) - a defence of Jeremy Bentham's principle applied to the field of ethics - and The Subjection of Women (1869), which advocates legal equality between the sexes. This work, arguably his most famous contribution to political philosophy and theory, was first published in 1859, and remains a major influence upon contemporary liberal political thought. In it, Mill argues for a limitation of the power of government and society (democracy's 'tyranny of the majority') over the individual, and defines liberty as an absolute individual right. According to the still much debated 'harm principle', power against the individual can only be exercised to prevent harm to others. Full of contemporary relevance, this essay also defends freedom of speech as a necessary condition of social and intellectual progress
Intro -- Contents -- Editorial Note -- David Bromwich: A Note on the Life and Thought of John Stuart Mill -- George Kateb: A Reading of On Liberty -- On Liberty -- A Note on the Text -- Chapter I: Introductory -- Chapter II: Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion -- Chapter III: Of Individuality, as One of the Elements of Well-Being -- Chapter IV: Of the Limits to the Authority of Society over the Individual -- Chapter V: Applications -- Rethinking On Liberty -- Owen Fiss: A Freedom Both Personal and Political -- Richard A. Posner: On Liberty: A Revaluation -- Jean Bethke Elshtain: Mill's Liberty and the Problem of Authority -- Jeremy Waldron: Mill as a Critic of Culture and Society -- Bibliography.
Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Ways in to the Text -- Who Was John Stuart Mill? -- What Does On Liberty Say? -- Why Does On Liberty Matter? -- Section 1: Influences -- Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context -- Module 2: Academic Context -- Module 3: The Problem -- Module 4: The Author's Contribution -- Section 2: Ideas -- Module 5: Main Ideas -- Module 6: Secondary Ideas -- Module 7: Achievement -- Module 8: Place in the Author's Work -- Section 3: Impact -- Module 9: The First Responses -- Module 10: The Evolving Debate -- Module 11: Impact and Influence Today -- Module 12: Where Next? -- Glossary of Terms -- People Mentioned in the Text -- Works Cited.
At the time it was published in 1859, John Stuart Mill's On Liberty was a radical and controversial work; it argued for the right of individuals to possess freedom from the state in moral and economic matters. Mill declares that ""Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign"", contrasting this with the ""tyranny of the majority."" He states that an individual can do anything they like as long as it doesn't harm another.
This book is a philosophical work by British philosopher John Stuart Mill. It was a radical work to the Victorian readers of the time, as it supported individuals' moral and economic freedom from the state. This edition has been specially formatted by Andrews UK for today's e-reading devices, and features an easy-to-navigate table of contents.
Since its first publication in 1859, few works of political philosophy have provoked such continuous controversy as John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty", a passionate argument on behalf of freedom of self-expression. This classic work is now available in this volume which also includes essays by scholars in a range of fields. The text begins with a biographical essay by David Bromwich and an interpretative essay by George Kateb. Then Jean Bethke Elshtain, Owen Fiss, Judge Richard A. Posner and Jeremy Waldron present commentaries on the pertinence of Mill's thinking to early 21st century debates. They discuss, for example, the uses of authority and tradition, the shifting legal boundaries of free speech and free action, the relation of personal liberty to market individualism, and the tension between the right to live as one pleases and the right to criticize anyone's way of life
John Stuart Mill's masterwork: A meditation on the relationship between the individual and society One of the foremost thinkers of his age, John Stuart Mill was a steadfast advocate of individual freedom. This groundbreaking work explores the relationship between freedom and authority, between the citizen and the state, applying Mill's concept of utilitarianism to the philosophy of governance. Individual liberties, Mill argues, are threatened by the very concept of democracy, which is continually at risk of veering into tyranny. Mill outlines the basic liberties to which individuals are entitl