PHIL 320A Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Liberty, On Liberty
30 Aug 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
9
- utilitarianism has one supreme principle
Chapter 33 Mill: Selection from On Liberty p. 379-387
- concerned with civil or social liberty: the nature and limits of the power which can be
legitimately exercised by society over the individual
- struggle between liberty and authority
- historically liberty meant protection against tyranny of the political rulers
- these political ruler’s power was regarded as necessary and highly dangerous as a weapon
they would use against their subjects no less than against their external enemies
- the aim of patriots was to set limits to the power which the ruler should be suffered to exercise
over the community; and this limitation is what they meant by liberty
- liberty was attempted in two ways
- 1. by obtaining a recognition of certain immunities called political liberties or right, which it
was to be regarded a breach fo duty in the ruler to infringe, and if he did infringe, specific
resistance or general rebellion was justifiable
- 2. establishment of constitutional checks, by which the consent of the community, or a body
of some sort, supposed to represent its interests, was made a necessary condition to some the
more important acts of governing power
- but then came a about a new desire for elective and temporary rulers for which the community
could have complete security and that the powers of the government wouldn’t be abused to
their disadvantage
