POLS 351 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Harm Principle, Tyrant, Rule Utilitarianism
9 Dec 2017
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Son of james mill (=important philosopher and intellectual) important originator in philosophy of utilitarianism with jeremy bentham. James mill: loves bentham"s ideas and they work together frequently on ideas that were considered radical for the time, lets bentham raise/educate his son in a very aggressive and socially isolating way, j. s. Mill eventually had a mental breakdown at age 21. Believed social life can be measured and decisions can be made through utilitarianism. Mill moves to paris to study idealist romantics; directly contrary to everything he was raised on. Eventually returns to the school of utilitarianism, tried to soften the theory and make it more human. Highly politically active but never served as an official academic, eventually arrested for his political activities for advocating for access to birth control (highly controversial in victorian. Briefly served in british parliament and fought for women"s suffrage. Highly influenced by harriet taylor, who he eventually married.
