John Stuart Mill, born on 20 May 1806 in Pentonville, London, England, was a well-known British philosopher, political economist, civil servant and also a Member of Parliament. He was an influential liberal thinker of the 19th century. John Stuart Mill was the eldest son a Scottish philosopher and historian, James Mill. He was educated by his father and also gained advice and assistance of eminent English social reformers Jeremy Bentham and Francis Place. John Stuart Mill was not allowed to mix with children of his age other than his siblings. His father wanted him to carry on the cause of utilitarianism, an idea that the moral worth of an action is determined solely by its contribution to overall utility, and its implementation after he and Jeremy Bentham were dead.
John Stuart Mill learned Greek at an early age of three and when he was eight he also learned Latin, Euclid, algebra and arithmetic. He read books like Fables written by Aesop, an eminent writer of ancient Greece, and Anabasis, written by famous Greek writer, Xenophon. John Stuart Mill read all the literary works of the famous Greek historian of 5th century BC, Herodotus. He also expanded his knowledge in history. At an early age, he read the works of Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher, and Demosthenes, a prominent Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens. John Stuart Mill also studied political economics and in his spare time, he enjoyed reading about natural sciences and popular novels like Don Quixote and Robinson Crusoe. In Montpellier, France, John Stuart Mill attended the winter courses on chemistry, zoology, logic of the Faculté des Sciences, and also took a mathematics course with a private professor. In 1851, John Stuart Mill married Harriet Taylor, a philosopher and women's rights advocate. However, she died in 1858 after developing severe lung congestion.
When John Stuart Mill was twenty, he suffered from nervous breakdown, which was caused due to great physical and mental arduousness of his studies that suppressed his childhood feelings. Gradually, he overcame this breakdown by finding peace in Mémoires of Jean-François Marmontel and the poetry of William Wordsworth.
From 1865 to 1868, John Stuart Mill served as Lord Rector of University of St. Andrews. He also became a Member of Parliament for City and Westminster. During his service as an MP, John Stuart Mill advocated slackening the burdens on Ireland, and was the first person to voice out for women’s right to vote. He also fought for several other women rights in the Parliament. He was one of the strongest supporters of women's liberation and consequently wrote a book The Subjection of Women. John Stuart Mill authored a remarkable philosophical work On Liberty, in which he advocated moral and economic freedom of individuals. He also articulated harm principle that states each individual has the right to act as he wants, unless those actions do not harm others. He introduced a number of different tyrannies, including social tyranny, and also the tyranny of the majority that deals with democracy and majority rule. John Stuart Mill advocated putting limits on the ruling power, where people should take active participation in decisions of the government. He advocated that individuals are rational enough to make decisions about their good being and can choose any religion they want to, and government can only interfere when it is for the protection of society. John Stuart Mill had a deep appreciation for the military. He was a strong defender of slavery on the grounds of genetic inferiority.
In one of his major publications Utilitarianism in 1863, John Stuart Mill gave philosophical defences of utilitarianism in ethics. In that book, he argues that intellectual and moral pleasures are superior to physical forms of pleasure. John Stuart Mill clearly distinguishes between happiness and contentment, claiming that the former is of higher value than the latter. He also dealt with one of the major problems associated with utilitarianism, schadenfreude, a pleasure gained from observing the misery of another. In his another major publication Principles of Political Economy, one the most widely read economic book in that period, he dealt with taxation. He also accepted the principle of legislative intervention for the purpose of animal welfare. John Stuart Mill believed that equality of taxation meant equality of sacrifice and that progressive taxation penalised the ones who worked harder and saved more, which was also a form of robbery. John Stuart Mill died on 8 May 1873 in Avignon, France, and was buried alongside his wife.
