John Stuart Mill

British philosopher and political economist (1806–1873) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873)[1] was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to social theory, political theory, and political economy. Dubbed "the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century" by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,[2] he conceived of liberty as justifying the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state and social control.[3]

Quick facts: John Stuart Mill, Member of Parliament for Ci...
John Stuart Mill
Stuart_Mill_G_F_Watts.jpg
Member of Parliament
for City of Westminster
In office
25 July 1865  17 November 1868
Serving with Robert Grosvenor
Preceded byDe Lacy Evans
Succeeded byWilliam Henry Smith
Personal details
Born(1806-05-20)20 May 1806
Pentonville, Middlesex, England
Died7 May 1873(1873-05-07) (aged 66)
Avignon, Vaucluse, France
Political partyLiberal
Spouse
(m. 1851; died 1858)
Parent
Alma materUniversity College London

Philosophy career
Era
RegionWestern philosophy
School
Main interests
Notable ideas
Signature
John_Stuart_Mill_signature.svg
Close

Mill was a proponent of utilitarianism, an ethical theory developed by his predecessor Jeremy Bentham. He contributed to the investigation of scientific methodology, though his knowledge of the topic was based on the writings of others, notably William Whewell, John Herschel, and Auguste Comte, and research carried out for Mill by Alexander Bain. He engaged in written debate with Whewell.[4]

A member of the Liberal Party and author of the early feminist work The Subjection of Women, Mill was also the second member of Parliament to call for women's suffrage after Henry Hunt in 1832.[5][6]