J. S.

MILL
INTRODUCTION
If one were to be dubbed “the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the 19 th
century” then that person would have made a lot of contributions to change and better
the thinking of the people of his time. And that is what, the most influential English-
speaking philosopher of the 19th century, John Stuart Mill did, indeed.
Born in 1806, J. S. Mill is addressed as an English philosopher, political economist and a
civil servant. Among his greatest contributions lies the concept of liberty used to justify
the freedom of the individual against unlimited states or arbitrary social control.
PART ONE
Starting from 1822, “two letters on the measure of value”, Mill has completed more than
fifty books and academic articles altogether. And among his most famous works are,
“question of population” 1823, “spirit of the age” 1831, “the subjection of women” 1869,
“Nature, the utility of religion and theism” 1874, “socialism” 1879 and “centralization”
1862.
It must be noted that Mill’s thinking and thus necessarily his works were constantly
influenced by classical philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. Moreover, leading
English names in philosophy such as Thomas Hobbs, Jeremy Bentham and poets like
Wordsworth and Coleridge, also had a great influence on Mills thinking. Hence his
works were more open to the concepts such as Utilitarianism, social liberty, liberalism,
and even liberal feminism.
Writing on several ideologies and philosophies, vast and contradistinctive as these has
shaped the understanding, J. S. Mill as belonged to several schools of philosophy. Hence,
though Mill was famously a Classical liberalist and a thinker of the Utilitarianism school,
he was also treated as an Empirisist and a consequentialist.
PART TWO
Mill arose to fame and recognition, however, not because he was someone who
reproduced those that has already found recognition. What made Mill outstanding was
the greater and waster philosophy he propounded based on the classical philosophies.
This can be easily proven by studying Mill’s one of the most profound works to date, the
subjection of women. The Subjection of Women was an Essay Mill worked jointly with
his wife Harriet Taylor Mill. When Mill first published it, to the 19 th century Europe,
ideas of The Subjection of Women was an affront as the conventional Western norms of
the time looked at men and women and their roles, not in the eyes of perfect equality.
However, as I have afore stated, Millian works didn’t derive their greatness from the
Classical principle they paid respect to, but from their novelty and the innate sense of
justice they had and Mill himself so admired and valued.
The entire work itself can be identified as a criticism and a guidebook towards greater
and vaster betterments, on the conventional look upon women. The Millian philosophy
in the book, enunciated that, intellectual and moral advancement of humankind would
result in the greater happiness of both men and women, and thus believed and argued
that, neither men nor women should be impeded from working for their intellectual and
moral advancement.
This moral and intellectual integrity and advancement of individuals was addressed as a
right, and many societal and political aspects were discussed under it.
The exclusion of women in voting was vied as an impediment upon the moral and
intellectual integrity, and an idea explaining how voting would enhance one’s
intellectual and moral identity and how it would provide an advanced identity to the
women is propounded and discussed enthusiastically.
In Mill’s time, women were subject to control by their husbands or their fathers, and
they were forced to adhere to and accept the norms and whips the fathers or the
husbands placed their trust in. Mill commenting on this states that, “the subordination
of one sex to another is wring”
Mill’s Utilitarianism 1863, is another work that is valued as one of the greatest books on
the utilitarianism theory. In fact many proponents of utilitarianism consider it as the
most famous defense of the Utilitarianism, and perchance so, is used as a material in
teaching ethic studies in many leading universities.
Here, Mill’s examination of utilitarianism is majorly influenced by that of Jeremy
Bentham’s and has sought to explain how to - as the happiness of a greater number of
people is better - justify the maximization of happiness. Mill here has opined that all
humans are social animals who naturally desire to be in unity with their fellow humans,
and opines that to ensure human’s survival as a whole, he remarks that the chasing of
selfish goals must be valued lesser when compared to seeking ways of improving
human happiness, thinking humankind in a collective perspective.
Thus it can be concluded hither, that Mill’s works were biased towards attempting to
actualize the equal rights and greater happiness for all men and women. This has
resulted Viewing and studying Mill as a philosopher who sought ways of thinking that
are benevolent towards every man and women’s freedom, prosperity and happiness.

PART THREE
John Stuart Mill in extending his philosophical conviction in an august dexterity, has left
us with an abundance of quotes, sayings and thoughts to remember. A study of these
will elaborate our understanding of not only Mill’s philosophy so well praised, famous
and published, but also of his personal philosophy as a human being.
Once, talking of how plural advancement of mankind can be achieved, Mill penned that,
“no greater improvements in the lot of mankind are possible until a great change takes
place in the fundamental constitution of their modes of thoughts”.
Here Millian philosophy speaks of two things.
One it elaborates that, in order to achieve human greatness, a collective modification of
our conventional ways of thinking should be undertaken. What this infers is the subtlety
that, every man and woman has to change, or in more precise words, lead to a
betterment, their individual ways of thinking. After all, the change of thinking is exactly
what has supported our tour and evolution from the primitive ages to the Dark Age,
from that, to the modern world and so on. What Mill has done here is registering that
eternal truth.
Second, this, though subtly, pronounces that, his age the 19 th century has erroneous
ways of thinking. Mill argues that in order for the changes dawning greatness would
require, changing them. Although we have moved from it, we of the modern time are
taught a lesson as inferring 19th thinking was of defects, Mills shows us of one way not
to think.
Mill’s thinking was based on Liberalism and ergo he supports individual freedom. This
importance given to the individuality of persons marks some of the Mill’s greatest
works. In one Mill opines and asks of his readers to “ask yourself whether you are
happy” and he says that when once you have done so, “you cease to be so”.
Though comical this may seem, what Mill is trying to spark in us is that, there is much
the free human has to achieve. It benefit so much to everyone, to have a look at one’s
own self, as it would remind you of many that you have to achieve. This is of course not
a negative way of over-burdening one’s self, this is more of a self-test that would give
people determination, and a better understanding of himself.

PART FOUR
When trying to understand how the 19th century influenced Mill’s literature is that, what
we see is its defects and Mill, if not always, famously, being a critique of it. The
conventional idiosyncrasies of the era, themselves were subjects for Mill to write on and
these defects and drawbacks has influenced Mill’s uttering of words such as “the
despotism of custom is the hindrance to human advancement”.
However, Mill and his philosophy has shaped much of the thinking of our time. As his
thinking espoused changed in the 19 th century, they still show us the moderns a lot of
ways of thinking too. Mill’s thinking being taught at almost every university in the
world, aids modern philosophy to stem from his thoughts too, influencing our times, in
greater ways, one would imagine.

REFERENCES

---. “John Stuart Mill.” Wikipedia, 25 Oct. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill

www.britannica.com/biography/John-Stuart-Mill.

“John Stuart Mill.” Biography, 3 June 2020, www.biography.com/scholar/john-stuart-mill.