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John Stuart Mill
May 20, 1806 - May 8, 1873
Known as, “The most influential English-speaking philosopher of the 19th century.”
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John Stuart Mill’s early Life
John Stuart Mill was born May 20, 1806 in Pentonville, London, United Kingdom to mother, Harriet Mill, and father, James Mill, a Scottish philosopher. The father gave the young boy a wealth of intellectual knowledge making him a child prodigy. James strongly influenced John’s mindset and most would argue Stuart’s inherited his theories from his father and his father’s long time friend Jeremy Bentham. The latter played an immensely important influence on J. S. Mill’s utilitarianism philosophy. -
Literature of John Stuart Mill
In 1831 John meets Harriet and from 1840 onward most of the publication were joint production. according to J.S. Mill, his “part author” was Harriet Taylor his eventual wife of approximately seven years. Throughout his lifetime this philosopher wrote a plethora of books, of note were, System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Deductive, Principles of Political Economy, On Liberty, revised Utilitarianism, Considerations on Representative Government, and The subjection of Women. -
Utilitarianism (1861)
John Stuart Mill’s most influential work was the publication of ,1861, Utilitarianism. In his revision of Jeremy Bentham’s Utilitarianism J.S. Mill added distinctions between high and low pleasures. In the literature Mill explained in depth his view of quality of quantitative pleasures. He did this order to affirm an ethical duty of the promotion of happiness. His view of the Greatest Happiness principle included the quip that the pleasure/happiness of society outweighs that of an individual. -
John Stuart Mill’s Political Career and Death
In true most of John Stuart Mill’s work was drawn from a variety of influences. Nonetheless, John Stuart Mill made his philosophical ideas his own. Later on in his life,1865, John Stuart served as a progressive member of the parliament constantly advocating for women suffrage, active foreign policy for freedom and Irish land reforms. But he was not voted back in due to his unpopular causes. Almost a year later, May 08, 1873, Joh Stuart Mill died of illness and was buried alongside his late wife. -
Citations
Online Library of Liberty. “Utilitarianism (1861).” John Stuart Mill, The Foundation for Constitutional Government Inc., thegreatthinkers.org/mill/major-works/utilitarianism/.
Priest, John, and Oxford University Press. “Philosopher of the Month: John Stuart Mill [Timeline].” OUPblog, 12 Apr. 2017, blog.oup.com/2017/04/john-stuart-mill-timeline/.
Thilly, Frank. “The Individualism of John Stuart Mill.” The Philosophical Review, vol. 32, no. 1, 1923, pp. 1–17. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2179029.
