Thoughts on Truth - Philosophy

John Stuart Mill: Individualist vs. collectivist Benthamite vs. Fabian. Great Reform of 1832 signaled rise to power of the middle class. Self-regarding – individual has jurisdiction; other-regarding – society has jurisdiction; social progress – is the valued end of the means of liberty; The problem is who determines the limits of each of the above. There are many logical contradictions in Mill.

pg. 64 Mill sums up freedom of opinion and speech.

Pg. 67 He asks if men should be allowed to act on their opinions with the indispensible poviso that it is at their own risk and perile.

pg. 68 He states concisely that the freedom of the individual should only be limited by not making himself a nuisance to others. "harm" without justifiable cause, "short of injuries to others". He adds that the same reasons why opinions shoudl be free go to supporting acting on those opinions; also that there should be different experiments of living while mankind is imperfect, and the worth of different modes of living should be proved practically. Living one's own character is one of the principal ingredients of human happiness, and of social progress.

pg. 71 One exercises the morality by making choices.

pg. 73 There is no natural connection between strong impulses and a weak conscience. Strong impulses are another word for energy and can be used for good as well as evil, more good can be made of an energetic nature than an indolent one.

pg. 75 Power positions were originally initiated to keep those people of strong impulses in check but at the present time this is too extreme and there are too few impulses. It makes more sense that God intended us to use the faculties he gave us.

pg. 77 The means of development which the individual loses by being prevented from gratifying his inclinations to the injury of others are chiefly obtained at the expense of the development of other people, and further there is better development in the social part of one's nature by the restraint on the selfish part of his nature.

Tendency towards individuality results in the greatest civilizations in history. Individuality is the same thing as development and only cultivation of this can produce good human beings.

pg. 94 from the bottom to pg 95. good principle and 2nd paragraph on pg. 95

pg. 95 List of allowances and things not allowed socially.

pg. 101 He talks about me

pg. 109 Sums up problem with "social rights" well

pg. 117 Interesting "liberty consists in doing what one desires, and one does not desire to fall into the river" about being denied access to an unsafe bridge.

pg. 114 The two main maxims.

Specifics are dealt with in the part Applications.