Philosophy

Philosophy Study Guide

because this is the best way to promote the general welfare of most citizens. Mill is convinced that our human identities and possibilities are defined in large measure by our individual spontaneity that we create ourselves, shape our destinies, and fulfill our unique potential, both individually and collectively. Mill believed that such freedom does not exist in isolation: it is necessarily accompanied by social responsibilities and obligations toward others. Of course, the most obvious obligation is not to interfere with the free choices of others, and to do so means being punished by legal remedies subjected to social disapproval. The essence of liberty for Mill is the freedoms that ought to naturally accrue to every citizen and identifies three particular areas: ● The freedom to think, express, and publish one’s opinions on all subjects, including scientific, moral, and religious. ● The freedom to plan one’s life and pursue one’s goals without interference from others (providing our actions do not cause harm to others). ● The freedom to unit with others for any purpose not invoking harm to others. Mill’s concepts of self-determination and human well-being are both classical and contemporary. The ancient Greek concept of happiness refers to full exercise of the soul’s powers, a concept of Mill’s notion of each person’s responsibility to choose a life plan rather than letting it be chose for us by others. Choosing a life plan can only be undertaken by thinking critically in the fullest sense, using our abilities to observe, reason, judge, discriminate, decide, and commit ourselves to a course of action with steadfastness. Mill believed that by choosing to remain in a social community, we commit ourselves to membership and the rights and responsibilities that go along with it. In return for society’s protection so that we can live our lives freely, citizens reciprocate this protection so that we can live our lives freely. Citizens are expected to do their fair share in defending the community from threats to its well-being, whether external or internal. These are expectations for the individual citizens that are enforceable by law. Mill believed our lives are necessarily interwoven with the lives of others in society, virtually all negative actions that we take are liable to have a negative impact on the welfare of others, but Mill doesn’t believe that this justifies the state stepping in to impose the principle of general utility. As a supporter of individual liberty, Mill strongly believed that the greater danger to a community comes from too much interference in the lives of citizens, not too little. In Mill’s view, people are much too willing to impose their views and values on others, thus threatening the right to live our lives as freely as we wish, a fundamental right to which we are all entitled. For John Stuart Mill, the touchstone for creating a society based on social justice and individual liberty is the concept of social utility. A rational critique of the concept of justice will lead us to understand it as that which calculates and implements the maximum good for the maximum amount of people. 10.12 Okin: Justice is what Promotes Gender Equality Historically, women have been denied equal rights tomen in virtually every arena-economic, political, and social-and this inequality persists to this day inmany societies. Inmany instances the free consent of political theories applies only to men, not women. At the core of this disparity is the distinction between the public and private spheres of life. Women have traditionally been responsible to the area

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