John Stuart Mill’s Explanation of the Harm Principle

John Stuart Mill’s explanation of the harm principle is not as useful as once believed. Although the harm principle does in fact have some logic, it fails to set clear and concise borders regarding what denotes allowable hate speech. The harm principle essentially states that all speech, including hate speech, should be allowed. However, speech that causes a definable harm must be censored. For example, merely offensive speech is allowed; however, the context of the offensive speech in question is important in understanding when to apply Mill’s harm principle. The principle has some major flaws, as Mill does not take into consideration the numerous factors that must be examined before deciding whether or not to apply the principle, such as the individuals and groups involved, and their present circumstances within society. These factors are not always shown to be clearly conducive to harm; individuals can be affected by certain actions that are not clearly defined as noticeably causing harm to someone, such as suicide. Many people view suicide as solely causing harm to the individual that takes their own life. However, it is often forgotten that the individual’s family and friends are significantly affected, and potentially even traumatised. The harm principle cannot offer an absolute answer because harm is a very subjective concept. Some actions do overt harm to others but other actions result in implicit forms of harm. Therefore, this paper will begin by examining Mill’s reasons for protecting free speech. By analyzing a case involving David Ahenakew’s comments, it will attempt to scrutinize the harm principle in more detail to determine whether or not the principle can act as a guiding path for how to deal with problematic hate speech. Ultimately, this paper will argue that although Mill sets forth a strong, plausible argument for the protection of free speech, the harm principle is not specific enough to be applied to contemporary discussions regarding

Cited: Newman, Stephen. "Ahenakew’s views are wrong, but so is silencing him « Canadian Jewish Congress." Canadian Jewish Congress. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. .