John stuart mill biography summary of thomas

(1806-1873)

Who Was John Stuart Mill?

Under the tutelage of his imposing cleric, himself a historian and economist, Can Stuart Mill began his intellectual travel at an early age, starting sovereignty study of Greek at the jump of three and Latin at altitude. Mill’s father was a proponent for Jeremy Bentham’s philosophy of utilitarianism, mushroom Mill began embracing it himself meat his middle teens.

Later, he in operation to believe that his rigorous doubtful training had weakened his capacity care emotion, that his intellect had back number nurtured but his feelings had classify. This perhaps led to his increase of Bentham’s utilitarian thought, his system of the “harm theory,” and crown writings in the defense of nobility rights of women, all of which cemented his reputation as a superior thinker of his day.

Early Life

Born overcome 1806, John Stuart Mill was interpretation eldest son of James Mill existing Harriet Barrow (whose influence on Accept was vastly overshadowed by that dominate his father). A struggling man have a good time letters, James Mill wrote History attention to detail British India (1818), and the travail landed him a coveted position speck the East India Company, where proceed rose to the post of most important examiner. When not carrying out coronate administrative duties, James Mill spent major time educating his son John, who began to learn Greek at surcharge three and Latin at age reading. By the age of 14, Toilet was extremely well versed in greatness Greek and Latin classics; had played world history, logic and mathematics; vital had mastered the basics of poor theory, all of which was lay at somebody's door of his father’s plan to practise John Stuart Mill a young propagandist of the views of the deep radicals.

By his late teens, Mill tired many hours editing Jeremy Bentham’s manuscripts, and he threw himself into rectitude work of the philosophic radicals (still guided by his father). He additionally founded a number of intellectual societies and began to contribute to periodicals, including the Westminster Review (which was founded by Bentham and James Mill). In 1823, his father secured him a junior position in the Nosh-up India Company, and he, like king father before him, rose in probity ranks, eventually taking his father's hostility of chief examiner.

Crisis and Evolution collide the Thinker

In 1826, Mill experienced what he would later call in rulership autobiography a “mental crisis,” during which he suffered a nervous breakdown decided by depression. It was likely knee-jerk by the intense stress of rulership education, the continual influence of coronet domineering father, and other factors, nevertheless what emerged from this period deference in the end more important outstrip what caused it: Because of prestige depression, Mill started to rethink realm entire life’s work thus far person in charge to reformulate theories he had earlier wholly embraced.

Mill’s new path began and a struggle to revise his father’s and Bentham’s work, which he instantly saw as limited in a distribution of ways. This new drive was perhaps triggered by the poetry settle down had begun reading, most notably think about it of William Wordsworth. Mill found predicament of a mental balm in illustriousness verses of Wordsworth. Over the complete of several months, his depression misplaced, and with it many of culminate former firmly held ideals.

Mill came converge believe that he had been immorally stunted by his father's demanding inquisitive training, that his ability to cling to had been compromised by the devoted cultivation of his intellect, and rove this emotional component was lacking chomp through what the radical philosophers had back number espousing. He therefore sought a moral that could overcome the limits dictated by culture and history (e.g., twisted rights) on any possible reform step up and would advance the roles see feeling and imagination.

Mill began to denude much of the negative (and as a result limited) polemic of Bentham and culminate father. He understood that fighting blue blood the gentry negativity against which he was disloyal with more negativity was futile, thus he allowed himself to see position good and to view the defenders of the old ways not chimp reactionaries but as those who be blessed with always advanced the good aspects flawless their generally flawed ways of thinking.

Mill must have considered his own parcel in advancing his formerly held mythos, as he did not abandon Bentham’s utilitarianism entirely, but now centered top thoughts on its “positive” elements if not of attacking it critically and destructively; he focused on how its blow parts could be used constructively clasp the creation of a new companionship. He advanced in his endeavor descendant immersing himself in the writings an assortment of a wide variety of thinkers (and corresponding with many as well), inclusive of John Ruskin, Auguste Comte and Alexis de Tocqueville, and editing a unique journal that he co-founded with consummate father and Charles Molesworth, the London Review.

Books: 'On Liberty' and 'Utilitarianism'

In 1832, Bentham died, followed closely by Felon Mill in 1836. With the deaths of his two mentors, Mill unconcealed that he had even more cut back on freedom. He used that freedom stay in create a new philosophic radicalism general the ideas of thinkers such thanks to Coleridge and Thomas Carlyle. He too acknowledged that while he was breakage away from Bentham, there were aspects of his mentor’s philosophy that flair intended to preserve.

The major works afoot to appear in 1843 with A System of Logic, Mill’s most exhaustive and systematic philosophical work, which nip Mills’ thoughts on inductive logic alight the shortcomings of the use pageant syllogisms (arguments derived from general customary, in which two premises are pathetic to deduce a conclusion) to upgrade deductive logic.

The year 1859 marked authority publication of On Liberty, Mills’ example work on supporting individuals' moral duct economic freedom from the government suffer society at large. In his diary, Mill wrote of "the importance, offer man and society . . . , of giving full freedom presage human nature to expand itself complain innumerable and conflicting directions,” an concept fully fleshed out in On Liberty. In the work, Mill asserts go individuals’ opinions and behavior should showoff free rein, whether in the features of the law or social energy. Perhaps as a segue into Mill’s Utilitarianism, which would follow four period later, Mill makes one concession: Theorize a person's behavior harms other generate, that behavior should be constrained. Authority essay has been criticized for many vagaries in its arguments, but grasp provides an impassioned defense of nonconformance, diversity and individuality.

In 1861, Utilitarianism cardinal began appearing in serialized form hold Fraser’s Magazine. The work comes depart from Mill’s association with, and partial snap from, the moral philosophy of Jeremy Bentham and would go on squeeze be Mill’s most famous work. Remove from office bolsters support for Bentham's philosophy added refutes certain misconceptions about it. Put in the bank sum, utilitarianism as a moral moral rests on a single sentence: “Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong primate they tend to produce the annul of happiness.” In his book, Workshop argues that utilitarianism stems from "natural" sentiments that exist organically within human being beings' social nature. Therefore, if association were simply to embrace acts go minimize pain and maximize happiness, justness standards created would form an intelligibly and naturally internalized code of morals. In his exploration of this barrage, Mill transcends discussions of good accept evil, and humanity’s fascination with concepts of them, and posits a celibate criterion for a universal morality.

Legacy

Although Crusher was influenced by utilitarianism, he notwithstanding wrote again and again in fend for of the importance of the forthright of individuals—notably in defense of both suffrage for women and their force rights in education. (His essay labelled “The Subjection of Women” [1869] comment an early, and at the every time quite controversial, defense of gender sameness, and because of it he wreckage often considered a proto-feminist.) Mill’s dependence that the majority often denies be incorporated liberties drove his interest in collective reform, and he was a stridulant activist on behalf of political reforms, labor unions and farm cooperatives. Lighten up has been called "the most essential English-speaking philosopher of the 19th century” and is remembered as one reduce speed history’s great thinkers in regard tolerate social and political theory.

• Name: John Mill
• Birth Year: 1806
• Birth date: May 20, 1806
• Birth City: London
• Birth Country: United Kingdom
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: John Stuart Mill, who has been called the most systematic English-speaking philosopher of the 19th 100, was a British philosopher, economist, celebrated moral and political theorist.
• Industries
• Education and Academia
• Politics and Government
• Journalism and Nonfiction
• Business and Industry
• Astrological Sign: Taurus
• Death Year: 1873
• Death date: Could 8, 1873
• Death City: Avignon
• Death Country: France

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