John Stuart Mill

Lore & Background

John Stuart Mill was born at 13 Rodney Street in Pentonville, the eldest son of Harriet Barrow and the Scottish philosopher James Mill. He was educated by his father with the advice of Jeremy Bentham and Francis Place, given an extremely rigorous upbringing, and deliberately shielded from association with children his own age other than his siblings. At age three he was taught Greek; by eight he had read Aesop's Fables, Xenophon's Anabasis, and the whole of Herodotus, and was acquainted with Lucian, Diogenes Laërtius, Isocrates and six dialogues of Plato. He began studying Latin, Euclid, and algebra at eight, and by ten could read Plato and Demosthenes with ease. At about twelve he studied scholastic logic and Aristotle's logical treatises in the original language, and the following year was introduced to political economy, studying Adam Smith and David Ricardo with his father. At fourteen he stayed a year in France with the family of Sir Samuel Bentham, attending courses in chemistry, zoology, logic, and higher mathematics, and meeting Jean-Baptiste Say and Henri Saint-Simon. At twenty he went through months of sadness and contemplated suicide, but the poetry of William Wordsworth helped restore his joy. He met Thomas Carlyle in the early 1830s; Mill offered to print Carlyle's works at his own expense, but in March 1835 a housemaid destroyed the manuscript of Carlyle's French Revolution, except for a few leaves. Mill offered £200 compensation, but Carlyle accepted only £100. Ideological differences ended the friendship during the 1840s. Mill also corresponded with Auguste Comte, whose positivism led Mill to reject Bentham's psychological egoism.

Reader's Guide

John Stuart Mill's significance lies in his formulation of the Harm principle and his advocacy for individual liberty against unlimited state and social control. His essay On Liberty (1859) remains highly influential, and a copy is passed to the president of the Liberal Democrats as a symbol of office. He was a proponent of utilitarianism, following Jeremy Bentham, and contributed to the investigation of scientific methodology. The Columbia Encyclopedia describes Mill as occasionally coming 'close to socialism, a theory repugnant to his predecessors'. He co-authored the early feminist work The Subjection of Women (1869) and was the second Member of Parliament to call for women's suffrage after Henry Hunt in 1832. He also advocated proportional representation, the emancipation of women, and the development of labour organisations and farm cooperatives. His legacy includes being classified as both a Classical Liberal and Social Liberal, and his work continues to shape liberal thought.

Did You Know?

• Mill was educated at home by his father and was deliberately shielded from association with children his own age other than his siblings.
• At age three he was taught Greek; by eight he had read Aesop's Fables, Xenophon's Anabasis, and the whole of Herodotus.
• In March 1835, Mill's housemaid unwittingly used the manuscript of Carlyle's French Revolution as tinder, destroying all except a few leaves.
• Mill was the second Member of Parliament to call for women's suffrage, after Henry Hunt in 1832.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 8 May 1873), also known as J. S. Mill, was an English political philosopher and economist who was an advocate of utilitarianism." — John Stuart Mill "It is not because men's desires are strong that they act ill; it is because their consciences are weak." — John Stuart Mill "An Examination of Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy (1865) as quoted in 5th ed. (1878) p. 617." — John Stuart Mill "Inaugural Address Delivered to the University of St. Andrews, Feb. 1st 1867 (1867) p. 36." — John Stuart Mill