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Liberty and Responsibility in John Stuart Mill
This List Is By:
Nicolas Maloberti
Liberty Fund, Inc.
Liberty Fund Fellow
In 2006, Liberty Fund made available in paperback eight volumes of The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill that remain most relevant to liberty and responsibility in the twenty-first century. Some of those writings are seldom read today, such as Mill’s essay on Bentham, in which Mill sketches a realistic account of the “springs of human action,” or his unfinished “Chapters on Socialism,” in which Mill not only formulates fundamental objections to the economic possibility of socialism based on the high moral and cognitive demands that it places on individuals, but also prophetically exposes the dangers to individuality posed by a socialist economy. The purpose of this colloquium is to explore a selection of these seldom read writings along with selections from his more well-known texts, such as On Liberty and Considerations on Representative Government.
Arguably the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century, John Stuart Mill was also one of the most articulate defenders of individual liberty. The consistency of his views is often questioned, but this is hardly surprising once we recognize the ambitious nature of his intellectual project. The scope of his interests included ethics, logic, economics, political science, epistemology, history, legislation, sociology, and education. Few other authors have attempted to offer systematic answers to virtually every fundamental question raised by the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. Thus, we believe that exploring the works of John Stuart Mill will not only give conferees the opportunity to assess the value of his views, but will also present them with a rare chance to reflect on issues as diverse and interconnected as the nature of human flourishing, the problem of free will and individual responsibility, the moral foundations of a liberal order, the corrupting influence of power and how to address it through the design of political institutions, the nature of progress and the challenges it brings about, and the purposes of higher education.
About John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill was the precocious child of the Philosophical Radical and Benthamite James Mill. Taught Greek, Latin, and political economy at an early age, He spent his youth in the company of the Philosophic Radicals, Benthamites and utilitarians who gathered around his father James. J.S. Mill went on to become a journalist, Member of Parliament, and philosopher and is regarded as one of the most significant English classical liberals of the 19th century.
Timeline: The Life of John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
Essays on John Stuart Mill at the OLL
Session I: On Human Happiness and Freedom of the Will (A)
John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume I - Autobiography and Literary Essays, ed. John M. Robson and Jack Stillinger, introduction by Lord Robbins (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1981). Chapter: CHAPTER V: A Crisis in My Mental History. One Stage Onward
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/242/7728 on 2010-03-11
The online edition of the Collected Works is published under licence from the copyright holder, The University of Toronto Press. ©2006 The University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of The University of Toronto Press.
Session I: On Human Happiness and Freedom of the Will (B)
John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume VIII - A System of Logic Ratiocinative and Inductive, Being a Connected View of the Principles of Evidence and the Methods of Scientific Investigation (Books IV-VI and Appendices), ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by R.F. McRae (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1974). Chapter: CHAPTER II: Of Liberty and Necessity
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/247/40047 on 2010-03-11
The online edition of the Collected Works is published under licence from the copyright holder, The University of Toronto Press. ©2006 The University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of The University of Toronto Press.
Session I: On Human Happiness and Freedom of the Will (C)
John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume VIII - A System of Logic Ratiocinative and Inductive, Being a Connected View of the Principles of Evidence and the Methods of Scientific Investigation (Books IV-VI and Appendices), ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by R.F. McRae (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1974). Chapter: CHAPTER III: That There is, or May Be, a Science of Human Nature
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/247/40049 on 2010-03-11
The online edition of the Collected Works is published under licence from the copyright holder, The University of Toronto Press. ©2006 The University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of The University of Toronto Press.
Session II: On Ethics and Human Nature
John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume X - Essays on Ethics, Religion, and Society, ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by F.E.L. Priestley (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1985). Chapter: BENTHAM 1838
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/241/21491 on 2010-03-11
The online edition of the Collected Works is published under licence from the copyright holder, The University of Toronto Press. ©2006 The University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of The University of Toronto Press.
Session III: On Political Liberty and Freedom of Opinion (A)
John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume XVIII - Essays on Politics and Society Part I, ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by Alexander Brady (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1977). Chapter: CHAPTER I: Introductory
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/233/16552 on 2010-03-11
The online edition of the Collected Works is published under licence from the copyright holder, The University of Toronto Press. ©2006 The University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of The University of Toronto Press.
Session III: On Political Liberty and Freedom of Opinion (B)
John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume XVIII - Essays on Politics and Society Part I, ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by Alexander Brady (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1977). Chapter: CHAPTER II: Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/233/16554 on 2010-03-11
The online edition of the Collected Works is published under licence from the copyright holder, The University of Toronto Press. ©2006 The University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of The University of Toronto Press.
Session IV: On Representative Government and Democracy (A)
John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume XIX - Essays on Politics and Society Part II, ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by Alexander Brady (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1977). Chapter: CHAPTER I: To What Extent Forms of Government are a Matter of Choice
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/234/16572 on 2010-03-11
The online edition of the Collected Works is published under licence from the copyright holder, The University of Toronto Press. ©2006 The University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of The University of Toronto Press.
Session IV: On Representative Government and Democracy (B)
John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume XIX - Essays on Politics and Society Part II, ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by Alexander Brady (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1977). Chapter: CHAPTER II: The Criterion of a Good Form of Government
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/234/16574 on 2010-03-11
The online edition of the Collected Works is published under licence from the copyright holder, The University of Toronto Press. ©2006 The University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of The University of Toronto Press.
Session IV: On Representative Government and Democracy (C)
John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume XIX - Essays on Politics and Society Part II, ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by Alexander Brady (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1977). Chapter: CHAPTER III: That the Ideally Best Form of Government is Representative Government
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/234/16576 on 2010-03-11
The online edition of the Collected Works is published under licence from the copyright holder, The University of Toronto Press. ©2006 The University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of The University of Toronto Press.
Session IV: On Representative Government and Democracy (D)
John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume XIX - Essays on Politics and Society Part II, ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by Alexander Brady (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1977). Chapter: CHAPTER VI: Of the Infirmities and Dangers to which Representative Government is Liable
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/234/16582 on 2010-03-11
The online edition of the Collected Works is published under licence from the copyright holder, The University of Toronto Press. ©2006 The University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of The University of Toronto Press.
Session V: On Property and Socialism
John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume V - Essays on Economics and Society Part II, ed. John M. Robson, introduction by Lord Robbins (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1967). Chapter: CHAPTERS ON SOCIALISM 1879
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/232/16742 on 2010-03-11
The online edition of the Collected Works is published under licence from the copyright holder, The University of Toronto Press. ©2006 The University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of The University of Toronto Press.
Session VI: On Progress and Education (A)
John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume XVIII - Essays on Politics and Society Part I, ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by Alexander Brady (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1977). Chapter: CIVILIZATION 1836
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/233/16538 on 2010-03-11
The online edition of the Collected Works is published under licence from the copyright holder, The University of Toronto Press. ©2006 The University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of The University of Toronto Press.
Session VI: On Progress and Education ( B)
John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume XXI - Essays on Equality, Law, and Education, ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by Stefan Collini (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1984). Chapter: INAUGURAL ADDRESS DELIVERED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS 1867
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/255/21681 on 2010-03-11
The online edition of the Collected Works is published under licence from the copyright holder, The University of Toronto Press. ©2006 The University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of The University of Toronto Press.