PHIL 1010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Harm Principle, On Liberty
30 Jun 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Freedom of speech is one of the most combative issues in liberal societies. John stuart mill"s on liberty, four concrete grounds of free speech alongside the idea of the harm principle are outlined throughout this chapter. In the latter half of this paper, i will explain why i agree that speech should be regulated. The first premise of free speech highlights the fact that if any opinion is silenced, then that opinion might possibly be true. Considering this, mill believes that to deny this, we are assuming our own infallibility. Also, mill expresses even if the silenced opinion is incorrect, it may hold a portion of truth under the condition that it is discussed openly to allow time for the opinion to be validated by others. Mill later suggests that if the opinion is true, it will be held in the manner of a prejudice, and the meaning of the theory or idea may be lost of its initial effect.
