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Samenvatting On Liberty (over vrijheid) - John Stuart Mill H1 T.M H5
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John Stuart Mill 1806-1873Bentham (born 1748,died 1832) was Mill’s Godfather; Mill was Bertrand Russell’s godfather (1873-1970)
Life
• Father was James Mill – philosopher
• Educated at home: Greek at 3; Latin at 5
• First 4 chapters of Autobiography are all about his father’s guidance, approval, criticism.
– Raised as a Benthamite utilitarian
• 1826: mental breakdown. “My father ... was the last person to whom .. I looked for help... Everything convinced me
that he had no knowledge of any such mental state as I was suffering from... My education, which was wholly his
work, had been conducted without any regard to the possibility of its ending with this result...”
• Autobiography, 147
• Gets out of it via romantic poets (Wordsworth, Coleridge, Goethe, etc...)
Utilitarian
• Mill says he is a utilitarian. What is a utilitarian? – Maximize utility: happiness (=good), minimize pain (-
bad)
• Bentham, James Mill
• Act utilitarianism: an act is right if it maximizes utility
– Problems:
• Ruleutilitarianism:anactisrightifitconforms
to a rule that maximizes utility
– But assumes no moral conflict and systematization: “abstracts from separateness of individuals”
purpose
• “It [OL] is a kind of philosophical textbook of a single truth, which the changes progressively taking place in modern
society tend to bring out into ever stronger relief: The importance to man and society, of a large variety in types of
character, and of giving full freedom to human nature to expand itself in innumerable and conflicting directions.”
– Autobiography - Col. Works, I 259)
On Liberty
• The object of this Essay is to assert one very simple principle, as entitled to govern absolutely the dealings of
society with the individual in the way of compulsion and control, whether the means used be physical force in the
form of legal penalties, or the moral coercion of public opinion. That principle is, that the sole end for which mankind
are warranted, individually or collectively in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is
self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized
community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient
warrant.
– Chapter I
Rules out
– moralism (community feelings); – welfarism
» An act is morally iff punishing it would maximally prevent harm to others.
• rules out:
– paternalism;
Well...
• Self-protection seems reasonable enough
• But “to prevent harm to others”
– What counts as harm? Offending someone’s tastes?
– What is harm to others • Egdrugs
• Isthisphysicaldamageormoralharm – Nudity
, • This relies on an important distinction: “self-regarding acts” and “other regarding acts.”
– Has been the subject of criticism for a long time – Some have denied one can make this distinction – What is an act
that “concerns others”?
He says in Chapter 4
• “I fully admit that the mischief which a person does to himself, may seriously affect, both through their sympathies
and their interests, those nearly connected with him, and in a minor degree, society at large. When, by conduct of this
sort, a person is led to violate a distinct and assignable obligation to any other person or persons, the case is taken
out of the self- regarding class, and becomes amenable to moral disapprobation in the proper sense of the term.”
“becomes amenable to moral disapprobation in the proper sense of the term”
• Note he says early in Ch. 4(parag 3): “The acts of an individual may be hurtful to others, or wanting in due
consideration for their welfare, without going the length of violating any of their constituted rights.”
• This seems to mean that moral disapprobation is based on a violation of constituted rights, which is not a utilitarian
calculation.
So what do we make of this?
• It is proper to state that I forego any advantage which could be derived to my argument from the idea of abstract
right as a thing independent of utility.”
– (Chap I)
• Mill’s notion of utility: “I regard utility as the ultimate appeal on all ethical questions; but it must be utility in the largest
sense, grounded on the permanent interests of man as a progressive being. Those interests, I contend, authorize the
subjection of individual spontaneity to external control, only in respect to those actions of each, which concern the
interest of other people.”
What is utility “in the largest sense”?
• Does it let us know if we should raise or lower taxes? Abolish the death penalty?
• Basically Mill seems to mean that rights and obligations are not to be “abstract” but are to lead to human good.
• This does not help much: suppose a tyrant provides sufficient bread and circuses?
Think about it this way
• Can we defend “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (American Declaration of Independence) as leading to the
greatest happiness of the greatest number? Does the pursuit of happiness lead to such happiness?
• Suppose we say that liberty is conducive to happiness? – Does this mean that liberty causes greater pleasure than
subjection?
– But clearly one knows THAT.
– If you did not know that, human society would be indifferent to you. And that is not impossible. Rousseau: “man is
born free and is everywhere in chains.” Plato and the Cave.
Hmm
• In chapter 3, he says that a person’s own character (his or her individuality) is one of the principle ingredients of
human happiness.
• “As it is useful that while mankind are imperfect there should be different opinions, so is it that there should be
different experiments of living; that free scope should be given to varieties of character, short of injury to others; and
that the worth of different modes of life should be proved practically, when any one thinks fit to try them. It is
desirable, in short, that in things which do not primarily concern others, individuality should assert itself. Where, not
the person's own character, but the traditions of customs of other people are the rule of conduct, there is wanting one
of the principal ingredients of human happiness, and quite the chief ingredient of individual and social progress.”
• Liberty is thus a principle ingredient of happiness
Desirable?
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