Summary:
In his 1859 essay On Liberty, John Stuart Mill wrote of the importance of individual liberty and the integral role it plays in a political society. Individual liberty is important in attaining truth, it is critical to the achievement of progress for both the individual and the society as a whole, and it always must be defended in the face of various forms of tyranny. The question is, to what degree is Mill's defense of individual liberty justified?
On what grounds does Mill defend individual liberty? Is he justified?
Definition of Individual liberty
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.
However, Mill asserts an important caveat; that which he calls 'the very simple principle'. He writes, 'That principle is, that the sole end for which mankind are.....
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