PHIL202 Week 3 - John Stuart Mill

Birth

May 20, 1806

In 1806, John Stuart Mill was born in London, England. Raised to be a genius, by eight Mill had been trained in Greek, physics and astronomy. He had also read a number of impressive classical works. As a child, he subsequently continued to study mathematics, science and philosophy. Mill was a proponent of liberty, women's rights and an opponent of slavery and heavy social restrictions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr9954kaFBs Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. John W. Parker and Son, 1859.

Marriage

1851

John Stuart Mill married Harriet Taylor in 1851, a couple of years after her first husband died. Mill is recognized as one of the earlier influencers in the feminist movement. His thinking on feminism was influenced by his respect for his wife. Mill argued that for much of history, marriage was an institution that subjugated one sex to the other. His thinking on feminism mirrored his thoughts on slavery. Mill, John Stuart. The Subjection of Women. Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, 1963.

Utilitarianism Published

1861

Mill is best known for being a proponent of utilitarianism. In 1861, articles on the topic appeared in Fraser's Magazine. A couple of years later, in 1863, these articles were reprinted in a book simply titled Utilitarianism. Mill's core argument is that people live for happiness. Mill's concept of utilitarianism is the maximization of individual happiness, or happiness for the greatest number of people. Mill, John Stuart. Utilitarianism. Parker, Son, And Bourn, 1963.

Death

May 8, 1873

John Stuart Mill died in Avignon, France. During his lifetime, he contributed to the systemization of the scientific method by contributing five principles of inductive reasoning. Mill's Methods, first published in 1843, were principles concerning causality. Mill, John Stuart. A System of Logic, Ratiocinative And Inductive. Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1881.