DVM2350 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: John Stuart Mill, Harm Principle, On Liberty

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: International Development and Globalization
• Course: DVM2350
• Professor: Mahmoud Masaeli

Document Summary

The liberty of the press as one of the securities against corrupt or tyrannical government. This freedom guarantees our own liberty because we can ght against all forms of corruption. We must be free to express ourselves because through self-expression a critical atmosphere is created where we can challenge authoritative gures. This allows for a critical opening to criticize tyrannical systems in society. The discourse of human rights provides a convenient approach to ght against all tyrannical systems. Why defend the liberty of the press: freedom of the press/speech helps the discovery of the true opinions. If people"s freedom to express themselves is suppressed, it would be a violation of the harm principle: censorship (in terms of in icting harm on others or blocking others) prevents the discovery of truth. The freedom of the press is instrumental for the discovery of the true opinion(s) Authorities might suppress the liberty of the speech. This harms the discovery of the truth opinions.