PHL271H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Negative And Positive Rights, Fundamental Justice, On Liberty
PHL7 – Leture 5
Mill, Excerpts from On Liberty
• He prioritizes the liberty and how the liberties can at times lead to these
• Ones permanent interests show us as progressive beings
• Harm principle
Types of liberty – pg. 315
1. Liberty of conscience
2. Liberty of expression
3. Liberty of tastes and pursuits
4. Liberty to unite
What kids of liberty atter i Mill’s ie?
1. Some negative liberties, e.g. liberty of thought, feeling, association
o If e do’t take others’ opiios, e o’t ko if the’re right
o Even if minority opinions are obviously wrong, we should still take it
▪ But if e igore the, e’ll lose oetio to the truth
▪ The truth will be a living truth rather than a dead dogma
2. Ultimately, these are important because they promote positive liberty
The ol freedom that deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own
a, so log as e do ot attept to deprie others of theirs…
• Pursuing your own good implies a sense of direction, a life goal
• We are the only ones who can judge what will make your life better and the best
way to achieve that
• The good is a oeptio of hat is atuall good for us, above our fleeting
desires
Mill uses this view of liberty to support
• A thesis about the principled limits of governmental power
The Harm Principle – pg. 313
• The only purpose for which power can be exercised over one individual against
his will is to prevent harm to others
• Goerets aot liit soeoe’s atiities just eause the ajorit fids
them offensive, or even because they think it is in this perso’s o est
interests to stop
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