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John Stuart Mill

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Stuart Mill
by yantina01
John Stuart Mill, the eldest son of the philosopher, James Mill, was born in London on 20th May, 1806.
Educated a home by his father, John Stuart had studied the works of Aristotle, Plato, Jeremy
Bentham,Thomas Hobbes, David Ricardo and Adam Smith by the time he had reached the age of
twelve.
Mill was especially impressed by the work of Jeremy Bentham. He agreed with Bentham when he
argued in Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789), that the proper objective of all
conduct and legislation is "the greatest happiness of the greatest number". Mill became a Utilitarian and
at the age of seventeen formed a discussion group called the Utilitarian Society.
Mill also began having articles published in the Westminster Review, a journal founded by Jeremy
Bentham and James Mill to propagate Radical views. John Stuart Mill also wrote for other newspapers
and journals including the Morning Chronicle and Parliamentary History & Review. Jeremy took an active
role in the campaign for parliamentary reform, and was one of the first to suggest that women should
have the same political rights as men. In an article in the Westminster Review in 1824 Mill revealed his
commitment to women's equality. He disagreed with his father, James Mill, who had argued that women
did not need the vote. He also supported the views of William Thompson, whose book, Appeal of One
Half the Human Race, Women, Against the Pretensions of the Other Half, Men, to Retain Them in
Political, and thence in Civil and Domestic Slavery, was published in 1825. In 1830 John Stuart Mill
became a close friend of Harriet Taylor. Taylor was attracted to Mill, the first man she had met who
treated her as an intellectual equal. Mill was impressed with Taylor and asked her to read and comment
on the latest book he was working on. Over the next few years they exchanged essays on issues such
as marriage and women's rights. Those essays that have survived reveal that Taylor held more radical
views than Mill on these subjects. She argued: "Public offices being open to them alike, all occupations
would be divided between the sexes in their natural arrangements. Fathers would provide for their
daughters in the same manner as their sons." Harriet Taylor was attracted to the socialist philosophy that
had been promoted by Robert Owen in books such as The Formation of Character (1813) and A New
View of Society (1814). In her essays Taylor was especially critical of the degrading effect of women's
economic dependence on men. Taylor thought this situation could only be changed by the radical reform
of all marriage laws. Although Mill shared Taylor's belief in equal rights, he favoured laws that gave
women equality rather than independence. In 1833 Harriet negotiated a trial separation from her
husband. She then spent six weeks with Mill inParis. On their return Harriet Taylor moved to a house
at Walton-on-Thames where John Start Mill visited her at weekends. Although Harriet Taylor and Mill
claimed they were not having a sexual relationship, their behaviour scandalized their friends. As a result,
the couple became socially isolated. John Roebuck later argued: "My affection for Mill was so warm and
so sincere that I was hurt by anything which brought ridicule upon him. I saw, or thought I saw, how
mischievous might be this affair, and as we had become in all things like brothers, I determined, most

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unwisely, to speak to him on the subject. With this resolution I went to the India House next day, and
then frankly told him what I thought might result from his connection with Mrs. Taylor. He received my
warnings coldly, and after some time I took my leave, little thinking what effect my remonstrances had
produced. The next day I again called at the India House. The moment I entered the room I saw that, as
far he was concerned, our friendship was at an end. His manner was not merely cold, but repulsive; and
I, seeing how matters were, left him. His part of our friendship was rooted out, nay, destroyed, but mine
was untouched."
In 1834 Mill founded the Radical journal, The London Review with William Molesworth. Two years later,
Mill purchased the Westminster Review and merged the two journals. As proprietor of theWestminster
Review, Mill used the journal to support those politicians such as Thomas Wakley,Joseph
Brotherton, Thomas Duncombe and Thomas Attwood, who were advocating further reform of the House
of Commons.
After the death of John Taylor in 1849, Mill married Harriet Taylor. A few months after the wedding
theWestminster Review published The Enfranchisement of Women. Although the article had been mainly
written by Taylor, it appeared under John Stuart Mill's name. The same happened with the publication of
an article in the Morning Chronicle (28th August, 1851) where they advocated new laws to protect
women from violent husbands. A letter written by Mill in 1854 suggests that Harriet Taylor was reluctant
to be described as joint author of Mill's books and articles. "I shall never be satisfied unless you allow our
best book, the book which is to come, to have our two names on the title page. It ought to be so with
everything I publish, for the better half of it all is yours".
John Stuart Mill| John Stuart Mill: On Liberty|
John Stuart Mill had always favoured the secret ballot but Harriet Taylor disagreed and eventually
changed her husband's views on the subject. Taylor feared that people would vote in their own self-
interest rather than for the good of the community. She believed that if people voted in public, the
exposure of their selfishness would shame them in voting for the candidate who put forward policies that
were in the interests of the majority.
After reading a copy of Thomas Hare's book on democracy John Stuart Mill also became a strong
supporter of proportional representation. In his autobiography Mill described this as a "great practical and
philosophical idea, the greatest improvement of which the system of representative government is
susceptible." Harriet Taylor suffered from tuberculosis and while in Avignon, seeking treatment for this
condition in November, 1858, died. Helen Taylor decided to give up her desire to become an actress and
devoted herself to caring for her step-father, acting both as his housekeeper and secretary. She also
helped him to finish The Subjection of Women. The two worked closely together for the next fifteen
years. In his autobiography Mill wrote that "Whoever, either now or hereafter, may think of me and my
work I have done, must never forget that it is the product not of one intellect and conscience but of three,
the least considerable of whom, and above all the least original, is the one whose name is attached to it."
Mill wrote a large number of books on philosophy and economics. This includes: A System of
Logic(1843), Principles of Political Economy (1848), On Liberty (1859), Considerations on
Representative Government (1861) and Utilitarianism (1861).
In the 1865 General Election John Stuart Mill was invited to stand as the Radical candidate for
theWestminster seat in Parliament. Barbara Bodichon, Emily Davies and Bessie Rayner Parkes were
enthusiastic supporters of his campaign as he spoke in favour of women having the vote. One politician

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Stuart Mill by yantina01 John Stuart Mill, the eldest son of the philosopher,?James Mill, was born in?London?on 20th May, 1806. Educated a home by his father, John Stuart had studied the works of?Aristotle,?Plato,?Jeremy Bentham,Thomas Hobbes,?David Ricardo?and?Adam Smith?by the time he had reached the age of twelve.? Mill was especially impressed by the work of?Jeremy Bentham. He agreed with Bentham when he argued in?Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation?(1789), that the proper objective of all conduct and legislation is "the greatest happiness of the greatest number". Mill became a?Utilitarian?and at the age of seventeen formed a discussion group called the?Utilitarian Society.? Mill also began having articles published in the?Westminster Review, a journal founded by?Jeremy Bentham?and?James Mill?to propagate Radical views. John Stuart Mill also wrote for other newspapers and journals including the?Morning Chronicle?and?Parliamentary History & Review.?Jeremy took an active role in the campaign for parliamentary reform, and was one of the first to suggest that women should have the same political rights as men. In an article in?the?Westminster Review?in 1824 Mill revealed his commitment to women's equality. He disagreed with his father,?James Mill, who had argued that women did not need the vote. He also supported the views of?William Thompson, whose book,?Appeal of One Half the Human Race, Women, Against the Pretensions of the Other Half, Men, to Retai ...
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