Connor O’Neill
12/2/2016
Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness Paper
"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. 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." (J. S. Mill, On Liberty)
The harm principle, created by John Stuart Mill and explained in On Liberty, is simply and idea giving an individual every ounce of freedom possible, except for when that individual exercising their freedom(s) puts another individual’s freedoms or self in harms way. Mill then states that it is only acceptable for the state to exercise ones power over another
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To understand what harm is we first have to understand the difference between harm and offense. And offense is something that for lack of a better term ‘hurts our feelings’. To clear this up offenses are something that makes some one else unhappy but to another it has no effect, hence offenses are not to just a black and white idea.
“...the happiness which forms the utilitarian standard of what is right in conduct is not the agent’s own happiness but that of all concerned. As between his own happiness and that of others, utilitarianism requires him to be as strictly impartial as a disinterested and benevolent spectator.”(MILLS, Utilitarism)
Utilitarianism, from which the harm principle was derived, states the you should only do things that bring the greatest amount of happiness to the greatest number of people. Essentially if there are two choices pick the one that makes the most people happy in the end. Now please understand the difference between this and egoism because they are fairly similar. The difference is that utilitarianism looks at all individuals (beings/objects) equally while egoism puts your happiness above
Mill clearly states this by saying, “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.” (13) Mill continues by saying that one cannot intervene for the sake of the person’s own good, or for their happiness; it is only when others are affected by one’s decisions that interference is warranted. While Mill’s definition of liberty may seem acceptable at first glance, a question of what constitutes as harm remains. Once cannot lead a healthy public life if one does not understand what constitutes as harm, and when their actions can be considered harmful. Until harm is clearly defined, what one
Utilitarianism defined, is the contention that a man should judge everything based on the ability to promote the greatest individual happiness. In other words Utilitarianism states that good is what brings the most happiness to the most people. John Stuart Mill based his utilitarian principle on the decisions that we make. He says the decisions should always benefit the most people as much as possible no matter what the consequences might be. Mill says that we should weigh the outcomes and make our decisions based on the outcome that benefits the majority of the people. This leads to him stating that pleasure is the only desirable consequence of our decision or actions. Mill believes that human
10.Which of the following terms refers to a justification for laws against some action that harms other people? A. B. C. D. Legal moralism The harm principle Appeal to precedent The offense principle
Self-protection has always been a staunch priority for any civilization, society, or for even an individual. It has been said that the U.S was founded on certain God-given rights and that those rights may not be infringed upon by governments. Furthermore, to ensure those rights remain protected, certain assurances were written into the U.S. Constitution’s Bill Of Rights. According to the Lonang Library, “It is [the peoples] Right, it is their duty, to throw off...[a] Government [i.e. tyrannical one], and to provide new Guards for their future security” (Pratt 2014). This quotation represents the mentality of, and often the ability of, a self-governing and free society. With this ability, however, comes necessary responsibilities such as
The Harm Principle is one of the central core of liberalism which was first introduced by the English Philosopher, John Stuart Mill, who believed that “people should be free to act however they wish unless their actions cause harm to somebody else." Such concept is a typical libertarian policy who promote comportment such as freedom of choices, individualism or again individual judgments. An example of a libertarian policy would be about hate speech prohibition, public cigarettes bans or again legalized prostitution. While authoritarian policies are those that prevent people from harming themselves.As an example, it could be about banning suicide, marijuana prohibitions, abortion prohibition,
In his work On Liberty, Mill placed much emphasis on individual liberty and its vital role in political society. To Mill, this phrase may be defined as the liberty of the individual to be the final judge over his actions; to decide what is right and wrong and to act upon that standard. On a secondary level, it also implies one's freedom to pursue one's own individuality. Mill believed in a society in which each individual leads his own distinctive life according to his own unique talents; unfettered by regulations upon thought, opinion, actions etc.
In Mills writing, clearly the harm principle is a huge focal point, it is viewed that this principle is based on the premise that an individual should not be interfered with by the government regardless of what actions are being cared among themselves, as long as they are not harming
For utilitarian philosophers, happiness is the supreme value of life. John Stuart Mill defines Utilitarianism as a theory based on the principle that “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain and privation of pleasure” (Mill, Utilitarianism). This meaning that utilitarianism is determined by the calculation of happiness, in which actions are deemed to be good if they tend to produce pleasure, a form of happiness. On the contrary, they are evil if they tend to promote pain. Not only does Mill regard to the end product of happiness in actions, but also considers the motives of such actions. In his argument, Mill defends the idea that happiness as the underlying basis of morality, and that people desire nothing but happiness.
When we look at John Steward Mill’s explanation of Utilitarianism, he defines “happiness as pleasure and the absence of pain”. When ones actions promote happiness they are usually in the proper scope and wrong actions do just the opposite and produce unhappiness. In this situation we want to make sure that the decision that is made is going to make as many people as possible happy, while causing the least amount of pain.
The “harm principle” is not for a person to take action towards another based for one's own good of their own morals. This is not considered ample enough to act against another person. Mill also
Inhibition of one's liberty, such as their liberty of conscience (i.e. freedom of speech), is unjust by Millian principles, unless the person's use of deliberation is to voice hate speech. So what is hate speech? Hate speech is directed towards a member of a group, or the group as a whole, that vilifies on the basis of the subject's beliefs. In comparison to discriminatory speech, hate speech does not invoke mere offense, but in most cases is traumatic, and severely impair one’s deliberative capacities, or their mental faculties (judgment, moral preference, intuition, etc…). Liberties have been established to protect our deliberative abilities, as these are conducive to achieving happiness, which to Mill is the individual's primary goal. So why should we regulate hate speech? Although it is important to allow people's freedom of expression, as this is conducive to promoting one's individuality, hate speech can stigmatize one's character, and for this reason hate speech is not always morally, or legally permissible. To better understand hate speech's importance, I will describe Mill's argument in favor of prohibiting hate speech, following this I will object to Mill's rejection of hate speech, finally, I will show why hate speech should be regulated, and why allowing it is dangerous to humans, and society as a whole. Freedom of expression is imperative for improving one’s character, but not all forms of opinions', such as hate speech, should have full freedom to be
Mill describes the basic moral standard of utilitarianism as "actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness." It means that actions are right if they provide happiness and benefits society and vice versa.
The harm principle can work affectively if private harm, doesn’t involve self-harm or future harm to oneself or others on any level. The harm principle also addresses to “inactions” or “omissions” resulting in society having a duty to get people to perform actions that can prevent harm to others. For instances helping others under certain circumstances, saving someone from drowning, rescuing someone from dangers that possible wont harm yourself in the process.
Mill also states that an existence with the possibility of happiness must be “…to the greatest extent possible, secured to all mankind; and not to them only, but, so far as the nature of things admits, to the whole sentient creation (234)”. Utilitarianism not only focuses on the attainment of happiness, but the prevention of pain and unhappiness. (230)
In John Stewart Mill’s words On Liberty is “about 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.” The writing as a whole is a celebration of individuality and a total rejection of all conformity. Mill rejects all attempts, e.g. legal or social, to coerce or force people’s hands when it comes to opinions or actions. The only time that any form of coercion is acceptable to is when an individual’s actions are harming other people or their ability to practice individuality. Aside from such instances, all forms of diversity should be respected, accepted, and embraced. Mill speaks for the usefulness of a utilitarian approach towards liberty’s value. His essay attempts to show the positive effects of liberty on all people and society as a whole. The liberty of both opinion and action are valuable in order for their ability to avoid stagnation and promote progress within individual’s and society alike. Freedom of opinion is vital because of the chance that the unpopular opinion is actually correct, and the better grasp of one’s own opinion that occurs when ideas are refuted. In action’s case, a nonconformist may be correct or have a unique way of living that suits his life best. Not only should how said nonconformist lives be of no concern to others in the first place, these individuals are actually essential to society for the complacency that they