Masterpieces always come with good reasons and fantastic story telling. On one hand, a good reason or a logic progress with facts makes a work more convincing; on the other hand, those fantacies and make-ups show a writer’s reflection on facts and reasons he or she received, and are extensions of those facts and reasons, rendering the work interesting and even more convincing. In three famous and classic works, On Liberty, Hard Times, and The Communist Manifesto, we can see how writers combine facts with fictions and compose excellent works.
I. On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
In his work On Liberty, Mill starts from historical facts, analysing facts using his reasons and gets his conclusions; then, changing his way he used to use, he
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He even chooses such a noble man, to show that we, who do not possess so much wisdom and virtue as that emperor, should be more careful so that we do not make this mistake.
Furthermore, Mill writes that “It is a bitter thought, how different a thing the Christianity of the world might have been, if the Chritian faith had been adopted as the religion of the empire under the auspices of Marcus Aurelius instead of those of Constantine” (On Liberty, John Stuart Mill, Page.28). Here, Mill makes up a different outcome with the historical fact, that the noble emperor did not persecute Christianity but supported it. Undoubtly, Mill wants to demonstrate that Christianity could develop better under the support of Marcus Aurelius with his wisdom and virtue that nobody could reach. Again, Mill stresses his arguement here that we should be alert with the mistake that “deny a hearing to opinions because we, in our judgement, have condemned them” (On Liberty, John Stuart Mill, Page.25) so that we can make things better.
In conclusion, Mill, from two aspects, fact and fiction, stresses his arguement and makes his arguements more convincing and impressive to readers.
II. Hard Times by Charles Dickens
Hard Times is a novel, so this work can be regarded as a fiction; however, it is also a novel that reflects facts and satirizes facts. Though the story is fancy, the background really shows British social conditions at that time. Therefore, in his
John Stuart Mill, an English philosopher and a political economist, had an important part in forming liberal thought in the 19th century. Mill published his best-known work, _On Liberty,_ in 1859. This foundational book discusses the concept of liberty. It talks about the nature and the limits of the power performed by society over an individual. The book also deals with the freedom of people to engage in whatever they wish as long as it does not harm other persons.
Mill’s liberal conception of liberty is tied to the individual and the individual’s ability to express oneself fully. Critical thought and the use of faculties only available to humans are of the highest importance to Mill, who in his third section of On Liberty (which itself is devoted entirely to individuality and his ideas on it) says directly that one “who chooses his plan for himself, employs all his faculties” (49). Further, he describes how
Mill claims that his purpose in writing on liberty is to assert what he describes one very simple principle. The principle that ought to govern society and that principle has come to be known as the harm principle. The individuals own good either physical or moral is not a sufficient warrant for societal intervention. The individual cannot rightfully be compelled to do or not to do because it will be better for him to do so because it is better for him to do so because it will make him happier.
Constantine the Great, also known as Saint Constantine, was the Roman Emperor from 306 to 337, right after Diocletian. As the first Roman emperor to call himself a Christian, his actions greatly affected both the history of the Christian Church and the history of the world. However, the question is, were his efforts about benefitting the church or about benefitting himself? It is said that because of his edicts and leadership, he was able to move the church as well as himself into positions of power. In addition, it was his advocacy for the church that put an end to imperial persecutions. This made Constantine not only highly important in world history but in church history as well. Many still argue about the significance of his efforts, but there is enduring gratitude in the collective memory of Christians for the Edict of Milan. Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 during a time when persecution gave way to religious tolerance. By the end of the century, Christianity became an official credo and the emperor would enforce its doctrines. This paper will attempt to make a fair and critical study of Constantine in his relation to Christianity.
Mill believes in the individual and his freedom to exercise his rights a person so long it does not harm others. That no one should be forced or pressured into doing things against their will and not even society, forceful ruler ship and public opinions of other should interfere in an individual's decisions. According Mill individual liberty is a good thing to major extent because he think it is a means to protect citizens form illegitimate leadership. The citizens had "Political liberty" to serve as a watch dog for the government in the case they abused their political power. The citizens could impeach such leaders if they found guilty. This kind of liberty makes the political leaders active and keep them on their toes.
For my research paper I decided to write about topic five which is to Research how John Stuart Mill and Ralph Waldo Emerson are similar and different in regards to their ideas on liberty and individualism. In order to analyze this topic I will be using Emerson’s Self Reliance (1841) essay and Mill’s On Liberty (1859) essay as my primary sources. During my research paper I want to explore the ideas of both Emerson and Mill so that I as well as the reader can have a better understanding of liberty and individuality. My working thesis is to compare and contrast the similarities and differences between Mill and Emerson in order to have a better understanding of the intent of their writings.
Mill highlights that a, a fool or pig, can only have a different opinion because it knows only one side of an issue. But a Socrates or human, knows both sides of an issue, and therefore can have a different opinion based on valid justification- which can only be achieved haven taken all aspects into regard. Therefore Mill's argument is a good one because it logically argues that people who have experienced both types of pleasures (intellectual
In addition to Mill’s strong beliefs with liberty and freedom, he deems true a direct correlation between
The purpose of Mill’s writing of On Liberty is to discuss his work in his Autobiography. Mill believed On Liberty to be about society and man, the characters people possess and the freedom of conflicting directions showed by human nature. In his writing, he rejects the attempts made by society that may be seen as legal coercion or the pressures of society formed by opinions and behavior. He states a person’s behavior is seen as harmful to one when coercion is accepted. Mill takes on the approach of a Utilitarian.
John Stuart Mill was one of the great philosophers of the 19th century. His works have
‘Hard Times’ is a Charles Dickens novel set in the social backdrop of the Victorian era during the Industrial Revolution that took place during the 1850s. The ill effects of Victorian Utilitarianism are upheld in this moralistic vision of the writer. Unlike most of his novels, ‘Hard Times’ is not based in London but in the red and black seemingly monotonous structures of Coketown. That being said, it still realistically allows the reader to observe the systems and structures of society forced to face various economic and social hardships. What preserves the novel as a social commentary is that the struggles in life and human emotions are still relevant “for these times”.
The article "Hard Times" is based off one of the most terrifying times in America The Great Depression. This time was horrible stocks crashing, banks failing, and farms failing. Now this time was telling something almost a hint too if we do not remember the past we are condemned to repeat it. However its not true if there is no evidence so now its time to support that idea.
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.
Hard Times symbolizes the negative effects of industrialization on English towns (Coketown in the story) including education. Charles Dickens was born in 1812, and was a contemporary of the Industrial Revolution. Industries were growing by leaps and bounds; bringing with it pollution, social imbalance and individual confusion. Dickens was rather poor and had no proper education. At the age of 12 he worked in Warren’s Blacking Factory attaching labels to bottles. He labored hard to educate himself and wrote novels to make a decent living. He, like the people of Coketown, had no time for idle fancy. Education for the general population was rote learning with little to no encouragement for creativity.
With these beginning sentences of the novel “Hard Times”, Charles Dickens has made readers doubt whether it is true that facts alone are wanted in life. This question leads to the main theme of the story, fact against fancy, that author has never been written this kind of plot in his other stories before. In fact, Hard Times is considered as "the unlike-the-rest of Dickens’ works" (Collins, 1992, p.xi) because the plot is not involved the social problems in Victorian Age such as poverty or child labor, but it is "an abstract that exalts instinct above reason." (Collins, 1992, p.xiii)