POLI 231 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Harm Principle, The Main Point
17 May 2018
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Poli231
Lecture 12 – 15 February 2018
Mill:
The Harm Principle: The state can only intervene if individuals’ actions hurt another
• Concept of harm is not fully defined
- Actions must be calculated and not produce evil
- Must not act in a way that is hurtful
- Must not prejudicially affect the interests of others
• People like the harm principle intuitively
- In obvious cases, there is no dispute
- There is a grey area, which arises from no clear definition of harm
• Mill has a problem with state coercive law and society’s repressive sanctions
The main point behind the anti-paternalist account is that coercion distorts the natural actions
that an individual would have taken. The state’s use of coercion is like punishing people for their
own thoughts and actions, which for Mill, is unjustified unless they are causing harm to others.
It does not harm us to hear ideas that contradict our favorite ideas. Person X might have a
religious view, which Person Y disagrees with. It does not harm Person X to hear Person Y state
an argument for their disagreement.
• Mill is very worried about religious opinion and belief
• Mill does not think it is anyone’s business to interfere with an individual’s choice to
personally pursue a dietary law
• There can be both a dominant religion and a free society at the same time. However, the
more it restricts people, the less free the society becomes
- If someone is crossing a dangerous bridge, what should you do? Do you prevent
them? Mill says that you can put up warning signs and inform people of the danger.
However, you should not physically prevent them from crossing the bridge
Voluntary prostitution is not a criminal offence. The individual’s choice, even if considered
degrading by society, should not be prohibited by the society
- Pimps who secure prostitutes are not necessarily acceptable
- Feminists tackle Mill and not necessarily on the same page. Social conditions which
force women into prostitution must be considered
• Gambling is also acceptable, while some gambling houses are not
• One cannot consent to slavery. This consent would be null and void. Society must not
interfere with liberty, but when one consents to slavery, one abnegates their freedom.
This cannot be done
Marriage: Mill believes we should have the legal freedom to bind in it and to divorce (this was
not a common position in his time)
• Mill recognizes that marriages may mean that the couple has obligations to third parties
(children)
• They are obligated to fulfill obligations to their children, but this does not mean that the
couple has to stay together at the cost of their own happiness
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Document Summary
The harm principle: the state can only intervene if individuals" actions hurt another: concept of harm is not fully defined. Actions must be calculated and not produce evil. Must not act in a way that is hurtful. Must not prejudicially affect the interests of others: people like the harm principle intuitively. There is a grey area, which arises from no clear definition of harm: mill has a problem with state coercive law and society"s repressive sanctions. The main point behind the anti-paternalist account is that coercion distorts the natural actions that an individual would have taken. The state"s use of coercion is like punishing people for their own thoughts and actions, which for mill, is unjustified unless they are causing harm to others. It does not harm us to hear ideas that contradict our favorite ideas. Person x might have a religious view, which person y disagrees with. However, the more it restricts people, the less free the society becomes.
