John Stuart Mill
J.S. Mill
He was the most influential thinker of 19th century. The importance of his political theory is that liberalism made a transition from laissez faire to state centered, from negative to positive concept of liberty and from an atomic to more social conception of individual.
Mill’s criticism of Bentham’s utilitarianism was one of the most important contributions to political thought.
Published the History of India in 1818
His essays “On Liberty” (1859) and “The Subjection of Women” (1861) were the classic elaborations of liberal thought on important issues like law, rights and liberty.
His essay on “The Considerations on Representatives Government” (1861) gives an outline of his ideal government based on proportional representation, minorities’ protection and self-government. His pamphlets “Utilitarianism” (1863) endorsed the Bentham’s principle of greatest happiness of greatest number, yet he make a departure from Bentham that this principle could only be defended if one distinguished happiness from pleasure
Utilitarianism and J.S. Mill
“Pushpin is as good as poetry” “It is better to be a man dissatisfied than a pig satisfied. It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a man satisfied”
J.S. Mill was a well read person. He was influenced by the Greek thoughts of Plato and Socrates. He has incorporated some aspects of Socrates and platonic tradition into liberalism to defend liberalism and to revise it.
Bentham has established that pleasure is a quantitative term not qualitative term. According to Bentham in pleasure there is no distinction whether a man derives pleasure by playing some games or by reading poetry. Therefore pleasures don’t differ in quantity and quality in individual.
However, Mill postulated that pleasures do differ in quality. According to him not only pleasure but individuals also differs each other. Some people will gain greater pleasure reading poetry than playing games. Mills, asserted that the chief deficiency in Bentham’s
He was the most influential thinker of 19th century. The importance of his political theory is that liberalism made a transition from laissez faire to state centered, from negative to positive concept of liberty and from an atomic to more social conception of individual.
Mill’s criticism of Bentham’s utilitarianism was one of the most important contributions to political thought.
Published the History of India in 1818
His essays “On Liberty” (1859) and “The Subjection of Women” (1861) were the classic elaborations of liberal thought on important issues like law, rights and liberty.
His essay on “The Considerations on Representatives Government” (1861) gives an outline of his ideal government based on proportional representation, minorities’ protection and self-government. His pamphlets “Utilitarianism” (1863) endorsed the Bentham’s principle of greatest happiness of greatest number, yet he make a departure from Bentham that this principle could only be defended if one distinguished happiness from pleasure
Utilitarianism and J.S. Mill
“Pushpin is as good as poetry” “It is better to be a man dissatisfied than a pig satisfied. It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a man satisfied”
J.S. Mill was a well read person. He was influenced by the Greek thoughts of Plato and Socrates. He has incorporated some aspects of Socrates and platonic tradition into liberalism to defend liberalism and to revise it.
Bentham has established that pleasure is a quantitative term not qualitative term. According to Bentham in pleasure there is no distinction whether a man derives pleasure by playing some games or by reading poetry. Therefore pleasures don’t differ in quantity and quality in individual.
However, Mill postulated that pleasures do differ in quality. According to him not only pleasure but individuals also differs each other. Some people will gain greater pleasure reading poetry than playing games. Mills, asserted that the chief deficiency in Bentham’s