NUMBER: 16TITLE: On Liberty
AUTHOR: John Stuart Mill
STARTED: February 12, 2006
FINISHED: February 13, 2006
PAGES: 118
GENRE: Philosophy
FIRST SENTENCE: The subject of this Essay is not the so-called Liberty of the Will, so unfortunately opposed to the misnamed doctrine of Philosophical Necessity; but Civil, or Social Liberty: the nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately excercised by society over the individual.
SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] Published in 1859, John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty presented one of the most eloquent defenses of individual freedom in nineteenth-century social and political philosophy and is today perhaps the most widely-read liberal argument in support of the value of liberty. Mill’s passionate advocacy of spontaneity, individuality, and diversity, along with his contempt for compulsory uniformity and the despotism of popular opinion, has attracted both admiration and condemnation.
REASON FOR READING: Assigned in HSCP 490: Senior Capstone Seminar
THOUGHTS: Aside from Machiavelli's The Prince, this was the only philosophy reading that I truly enjoyed in college. Mill advocates for the free exchange of ideas in a clear and concise manner that can be difficult to argue against. I enjoyed his many examples and eloquent explanations.
MISCELLANEOUS: I hate it when professors assign 100 pages of reading on Sunday night for a Tuesday night class. Boo to that.
KEEP/SHARE/CRINGE(?): Going back to the library
RATING: 6/10 [Good]
CR: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
RN: Some romance novel over spring break.
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