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Unit 13: John Stuart Mill: His Life and Theory of Liberty

Mill retained the basic premise of Utilitarianism, but distinguished between higher and lower Notes
pleasures, and that greater human pleasure meant an increase not merely in the quantity but also
in the quality of goods enjoyed. He insisted that human beings were capable of intellectual and
moral pleasures, which were superior to the physical ones that they shared with animals. He
succinctly summarized the difference in his famous “and oft-quoted statement :
It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied, it is better to be
Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool or the pig is of a different
opinion it is because they only know their own side of the question. The other party in
comparison knows both sides.
Mill pointed out that every human action had three aspects: (a) the moral aspect of right and wrong,
(b) the aesthetic aspect (or its beauty); and (c) the sympathetic aspect of its loveableness. The first
principle instructed one to (dis)approve, the second taught one to admire or despise, and the third
enabled one to love, pity or dislike. He regarded individual self-development and diversity as the
ultimate ends, important components of human happiness and the principal ingredients of
individual and social progress.
Mill used the principle of utility, which he regarded as the “ultimate appeal on all ethical questions”
to support his principle of liberty, but then it was Utilitarianism based on the permanent interests
of the individual as a progressive being. He made a distinction between toleration and suppression
of offensive practices. In case of offences against public decency, majority sentiment would prevail.
Beyond these, minorities must be granted the freedom of thought and expression, and the right to
live as they pleased.
Mill also tried to reconcile the interests of the individual and society. He spoke of nobility of
character, a trait that was closely related to altruism, meaning that people did what was good for
society, rather than for themselves. The pleasures they derived from doing good for society might
outweigh the ones that aimed at self-indulgence, contributing to their happiness. Mill saw social
feelings and consciences as part of the psychological attributes of a person. He characterized
society as being natural and habitual, for the individual was a social person. To be less than social
was inconceivable. The more these feelings were heightened, private good and public good
coincided.
Mill also stated that pleasures could not be measured objectively. The felicific calculus was absurd;
one had to rely upon the judgement of the competent and wise. He described the state as an
instrument that would bring about transformation of the human being. The state played a crucial
role in shaping the ends of an individual through education, an idea that found full flowering in
Green’s philosophy. Mill was the hyphen that joined Bentham with Green.

13.3 Defence of Individual Freedom and Individuality

In On Liberty, Mill stated one simple principle that governed the actions of society and the individual
in the way of compulsion and control.
... the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in
interfering with the liberty of action of any of their members, is self-protection. That is
the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a
civilised community, against his will is to prevent harm to others.
Mill defended the right of the individual to freedom. In its negative sense, it meant that society
had no right to coerce an unwilling individual, except for self-defence. “It is being left to oneself;
all restraints qua restraints is an evil”. In its positive sense it meant the grant of the largest and the
greatest amount of freedom for the pursuit of the individual’s creative impulses and energies, and
for self-development. If there was a clash between the opinion of the individual and that of the
community, it was the individual who was the ultimate judge, unless the community could convince

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