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On Liberty
On Individuality
Erica Stonestreet explores a peculiar aspect of On Liberty.
The principles Mill articulates for living together in a well-functioning society in On Liberty rest on a conception of the individual that may be somewhat surprising, given Mill’s explicitly Utilitarian stance. The third chapter, ‘On Individuality, as One of the Elements of Wellbeing’ contains a strikingly virtue-oriented argument (even though it is dressed in Utilitarian trappings). Based on an implicit characterization of human good that is not entirely happiness-based, Mill claims that there is something wrong with less than full participation in one’s life.
In ‘On Individuality’, Mill argues that individual decision and originality are what makes liberty worth having. Thus liberty is to serve individuality, not the other way around.
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