Name: On liberty
ISBN: 9780321276148

John Stuart Mill

Michael B. Mathias

Daniel Kolak

On liberty

In his much quoted, seminal work, On Liberty, John Stuart Mill attempts to establish standards for the relationship between authority and liberty. He emphasizes the importance of individuality which he conceived as a prerequisite to the higher pleasures-the summum bonum of Utilitarianism. Published in 1859, On Liberty presents one of the most eloquent defenses of individual freedom and is perhaps the most widely-read liberal argument in support of the value of liberty.

On Liberty

Jeff Sexton

This was the book where I learned a very critical piece of my reading personality:

I much prefer my philosophy tomes in novel form to essay. 

This was such a difficult read only because I could not "watch the movie in my head" as I do with even most nonfiction. On the whole, it was an intriguing look into his philosophy of Utilitarianism, specifically as it relates to liberty. More people would do well to read this and understand its arguments, particularly when discussing political issues even 15o years later.

Andrew John Kinney

Dense, but well written, and of course, it is a classic discourse on individual liberty and it's relationship to governmental power.

Dimitris Papastergiou

Diana Platgalve

One of the most important books out there that has shaped our reality now. In this masterpiece, the author is celebrating individual liberty by utilitarian approaches. Taking on the side my own political beliefs, the book is including three main liberties: on thought/speech; freedom to pursue taste; and freedom to unite. Individual is sovereign over his own mind and body. And individuality is important for creativity, diversity and progress. The only reason to limit Liberty is to save others from harm. 

Any opinion that is not discussed will become a dogma rather than living truth. The author is inviting individual to reason his own opinions and to be open to other views. Rather than being true or false, opinions most likely will share the truth. It is important to question reason of public values because if you’re not, you’re simply mimicking the majority. Mill as well argues, that an individual must be protected from tyranny of the majority as mostly their reason is their preference, coming from their feelings as the correct one rather than absolute truth. At the same time, False opinions are important as they invite for discussion of why common opinions are correct in the first place.

On the other side, he was an imperialist himself, supporting exploitation of people in the name of liberty and helping them.

After reading this book, one will not be able to hold extreme opinions