Mills Arguements
Intrinsic Value of Liberty
There can be very few doubts as to the importance of liberty to the philosophical espousing of John Stuart Mill, who even authored a treatise entitled On Liberty to underscore the amount of emphasis he placed on this particular concept. What is most interesting about the many different notions the author has in relation to freedom is the circumscriptions that are routinely placed upon it in what is the age-old conflict between the individual and the group -- the latter of which routinely takes the form of government or some other determining mechanism of society. Not surprisingly, Mill presents a number of viewpoints that contradict the notion that the morality of the state should influence the personal opinions and actions of the individual, especially when the effects of those actions only resonate within the individual himself. The two most eminent of these arguments, of course, revolve around the concept that there are both intrinsic and instrumental values of personal liberty that are forsaken, wrongfully, in instances in which the aforementioned condition occurs. However, a close examination of both of these arguments reveals that in this aspect of liberty -- which is of a personal nature that does not directly influence that of anyone else -- it is due to the intrinsic value of freedom that society should not attempt to dictate the personal freedom of the individual.
One of the most influential doctrines that Mill ever composed that addresses these two ideas and qualities of liberty is On Liberty, in which the author delineates the fact that there are actually both instrumental and intrinsic facets of personal liberty. Moreover, Mill also details how these different aspects of liberty directly relate to his position that governmental entities or society in general should have no authority over the personal choices of an individual. The author's central premise, however, is that neither "one person, nor any number of persons, is warranted" in dictating what someone else "chooses to do with" his or her life...
Mill, Kant, And Torture An Analysis of the Utilitarian and Kantian Arguments for and against Torture Alan Dershowitz expresses moral approval (with reservations) in his essay "Should the Ticking Time Bomb Terrorist be Tortured?" Dershowitz's argument is essentially that of a Utilitarian. But it also contains elements of Kantianism. While a Kantian, however, could argue against the moral correctness of torture, Dershowitz steers the argument away from a Kantian perusal of the
To cultivate genius when it does appear, a society must be free for all, not just the recognized geniuses. or, as Mill more eloquently puts it, "it is necessary to preserve the soil in which they [geniuses] grow. Genius can only breathe freely in an atmosphere of freedom...If from timidity they consent to be forced into one of these moulds [of conformity]...society will be little the better for their
For him, it is also important to know that liberty, while dependent on the individual's decision alone, should also take into account the consequences that will come out upon the accomplishment of an action. That is, it is vital that the individual think of the 'bigger picture': will the action benefit the common good, or will it benefit my personal interests only? Positive liberty, hence, becomes more vital when
Mill, Kant, Religion, And Gay Marriage In theory, freedom and liberty for all appears to be an excellent concept, one which nearly everyone would embrace. However, the practice of this ideology is not always as halcyon as its theoretical mandate. Quite frequently, it is possible for there to be conflicts of interests presented due to the notion that everyone feels entitled to pursue that which he or she wishes. There are
Mill talked of ethical freedom in terms of all areas wherein individual and society interacts and become involved with each other; Marx utilized the same viewpoint, although specified it in terms of proletarian-bourgeoisie relations. For Marx, ethical freedom is self-realization within the individual, and primary in this realization was the acknowledgment that one needs to be economically independent in order for modern individuals, and society in general, to function progressively.
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY Introduction to Political PhilosophyReflection on Hobbes�s Argument of All Human Beings Equal in the State Of NatureThe reason Hobbes determined the above statement is because being in a natural state requires equal ability to survive, for which killing and conquering could be part of the process. Three elements become consistent elements of this process: opposing one another for access to resources, disbelief, and magnificence (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,
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