Similarities Between Mill And Martha Nussbaum

However, is this political approach immune to social desires to regulate and guard all citizens? This work explores such tensions between freedom and liberty, and enforced state control, assessing Mill's liberal utilitarian politics, and their impact on individual lives.

Liberty is defined as freedom from arbitrary or oppressive control, that mandates one’s way of living. A document commonly associated with this concept, is the United States Declaration of Independence, due to its assertion that all men are equal and have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Declaration of Independence even goes on to state that men have the right to alter or abolish their government if they feel their government does not grant people the natural rights that they are entitled to. These two points were crucial to the document, as they explained why the United States thought of itself as an independent nation, not a colony, under the domain of Great Britain. When drafting the declaration, Thomas Jefferson borrowed from other documents, like the English Declaration of Rights, and the writings of John Locke, as both explained the limits of absolute authority. Due to the nature of the declaration, the document and the principles discussed in it would not influence the law of the United States. Additionally, when the founding fathers promised equality to all, they mainly meant to people similar to themselves, white men of property. The hypocrisy with the statements made in the declaration were acknowledged by some nineteenth century social reformers and activists. Though these activists agreed with the principles in the Declaration of Independence, they thought that Liberty could only be

Within Mill's 'On Liberty' it is clear that he has a high regard for the issues surrounding freedom and it's limits. Mill is an advocate of negative freedom, as a liberal he believes that there should be no restraints on an individual's freedom unless it is hindering the freedom or health of another person. One of the main reasons as to why Mill values liberty is because it contributes to personal development. Thus Mill argues that in order for individuals to develop they should be able to perform 'experiments' in living', which allow individuals to go through a system of trial and error until they find their own

Throughout his work Mill explains his principles and what he believes our laws should look like. In Mill’s harm principle he states

The definition of freedom depends entirely on how the phrase “freedom from…” ends. Perhaps a most straightforward understanding of freedom is the laissez-faire emphasis on limiting the power of government to interfere in economic and social matters. In this state of absolute freedom, however, inequalities exist between people, so that freedom from a controlling government does not imply individuals’ freedom of contract, movement, legal protection, equal rights through citizenship, or political voice. In light of the persistence of slavery in the US through the 19th century, freedom as an individual’s legal status separated people who could be citizens from people who were lifelong slaves. Even among legally free people, economic

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

The Declaration of Independence represents justice, equality, and natural human rights. Written to liberate American citizens from British control, the document stood for the colonists to live as freely as they wished. As grand as this document is, the pronouns and terminology used throughout this document is in the eye of controversy when the rights and status of women become involved. Mary Wollstonecraft, writer of A Vindication of the Rights of Women, is a major forerunner of the Women’s Rights Movement. Comparing her work to the Declaration of Independence, it can be seen that Wollstonecraft’s ideas can be served as a critique against the masculinity put forth in the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration makes numerous remarks recognizing only the rights of men. This excluded women from being recognized in the Declaration.

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 belief promotes that each individual’s opinion is important and therefore should be listened to by the government. The government would not be able to turn a blind eye to a minority; this is one of many influences on classical liberalism. In classical liberalism the government has limited say in the economy and ensures that everyone has the right to his or her freedom of opinion. An

Freedom is a necessary principle to abide by in order for the human race to function. On the other hand, freedom can be taken advantage of, thus resulting in harmful consequences to those directly and indirectly involved. The article, “On Liberty” by John S. Mills, places emphasis on the functioning of individual liberty and its co-existence with society. Mills stresses the limits of individual liberty through what is famously known as his Harm Principle: "the only purpose for which power may be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant" (Cahn). With special consideration placed on drug use and free

Mill is extremely clear as to why the individual should be sovereign over his or her body and mind—to counter the effects of a possible "tyranny of the majority." Mill states, "It (the majority) practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself" (63).

Mill uses the Harm Principle to identify his argument for freedom of speech. The Harm Principle explains that the government are only justified in interfering with individuals who express their views if only their views cause harm to others. If a person’s actions only affect himself, then society, which includes the government should not be able to stop a person from doing what he wants. Three ideas helped shape the harm principle. The first idea, Mill states that the harm principle is composed of the liberty of expressing and publishing opinions as being important as the liberty of thought, which

From Mill’s perspective, the person volunteering for euthanasia has a liberty to do what he/she wants. Mill has written that if the person does not cause harm to others, it is the person’s right, or liberty, to do what they please. If a person wants euthanasia, then that person has the sole liberties to choose such an act, and depart society and life. Nobody is being other than the person wishing it, and it is a volunteered act.

“Absolute liberty is the absence of restraint; responsibility is restraint; therefore, the ideally free individual is responsible to himself” - Henry Brooks Adams. There has been great debate, past and present with regards to what constitutes as an individuals liberty. It has been subject to constant ridicule and examination due to violations of civil rights. Freedom, liberty, and independence are all important human rights represented within John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty.

The argument Mill makes is characterized by a few premises. The first is that society is known to enforce opinions and beliefs upon the individual in hopes of maintaining a utilitarian good based upon a common set of truths that the society believes in. Due to this, individual liberty is often suppressed for the good of everyone else. When someone has dissenting views, they will be suppressed by the majority. Yet Mill’s believes that dissent is good because it helps to progress society by disconfirming our believes through listening and reasoning with those who are different. By addressing different views, people are able to develop their own ideas and as a society we are able to reach a better understanding of a utilitarian truth. For Mill, humans are not