Mill's On Liberty: A Critical Guide (Cambridge Critical Guides)

John Stuart Mill's essay On Liberty, published in 1859, has had a powerful impact on philosophical and political debates ever since its first appearance. This volume of newly-commissioned essays covers the whole range of problems raised in and by the essay, including the concept of liberty, the toleration of diversity, freedom of expression, the value of allowing 'experiments in living', the basis of individual liberty, multiculturalism and the claims of minority cultural groups. Mill's views have been fiercely contested, and they are at the centre of many contemporary debates. The essays are by leading scholars, who systematically and eloquently explore Mill's views from various perspectives. The volume will appeal to a wide range of readers including those interested in political philosophy and the history of ideas. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Series-title 4 Title 5 Copyright 6 Contents 7 Contributors 9 Mill’s On Liberty: Introduction 11 Free expression and individuality 11 Outline of the volume 23 Chapter 1 Mill’s case for liberty 32 Mill’s conception of liberty 33 Mill’s indirect utilitarianism 38 Mill’s qualitative hedonism 41 Man as a progressive being 44 The case for liberty 47 Chapter 2 Mill’s liberal principles and freedom of expression 50 Millian principles 51 Mill against paternalism 53 Mill against censorship 54 (i) The truth-tracking rationale 55 (ii) The deliberative rationale 56 From expressive liberties to liberal principles 59 Limits on liberty 60 Limits on freedom of expression 62 Deliberative values and First Amendment categories 63 From liberal principles to expressive liberties 65 Conclusion 70 Chapter 3 Racism, blasphemy, and free speech 72 Introduction 72 A laissez-faire doctrine for expression 76 Rules of justice 78 Laissez-faire policies 80 Legitimate regulation versus prohibition 81 Permissible censorship 83 Waiver of legitimate censorship authority 83 Complete liberty of thought and discussion 84 Legitimate coercion against expression that is not discussion 86 Conclusion 89 Chapter 4 State neutrality and controversial values in On Liberty 93 I Mill: a “comprehensive” defense of liberal neutrality? 93 II First- and second-level liberal neutrality 94 (i) A conception of neutrality 94 (ii) First-level neutrality 97 (iii) Second-level neutrality 99 III Mill’s first-level liberal neutralist principles 100 (i) Mill’s three principles 100 (ii) The presumption in favor of liberty 101 (iii) What is a harm? 102 (iv) When can society bear the harm? 105 (v) Is anyone not a neutralist in this sense? 106 IV Mill’s second-level neutralist liberalism 107 (i) What would be a neutral case for first-level neutrality? 107 (ii) The master argument for liberty: shared epistemic interests 108 (iii) Individuality, social progress, and diversity of tastes 110 (iv) Arguments for the harm principle 113 V Conclusion 114 Chapter 5 Rawls’s critique of On Liberty 115 I 116 (i) Equal liberty and the priority rule 121 (ii) The priority of liberty 122 II 126 Chapter 6 Mill on consensual domination 133 I 134 II 139 III 143 Chapter 7 Autonomy, tradition, and the enforcement of morality 148 Introduction 148 Autonomy, liberalism, and communitarianism 151 Mill’s response 156 The Art of Life and the enforcement of morality 166 Chapter 8 Mill and multiculturalism 175 I 175 II 178 III 181 IV 185 V 188 VI 193 Chapter 9 Mill, liberty, and (genetic) “experiments in living” 195 Introduction 195 I Liberty, individuality, and utility 198 II Being and nothingness: why non-existence is not preferable to existence 202 III Mill, reproductive freedom, and individual-affecting harms 207 IV Cloning and person-affecting harms: autonomy 213 V Cloning, shared values, and customary morality 215 Conclusion 217 Chapter 10 John Stuart Mill, Ronald Dworkin, and paternalism 219 Introduction 219 Mill’s main arguments against paternalism and some critical comments on them 221 Two criticisms of the internal consistency of Mill’s position on the justifiability of paternalism 226 Some responses to the charge that Mill is inconsistent 228 Ronald Dworkin’s critique of paternalism 230 Conclusion 236 Bibliography 238 Index 247 Mill's On Liberty : Introduction / C.l. Ten -- Mill's Case For Liberty / Henry R. West -- Mill's Liberal Principles And Freedom Of Expression / David O. Brink -- Racism, Blasphemy, And Free Speech / Jonathan Riley -- State Neutrality And Controversial Values In On Liberty / Gerald F. Gaus -- Rawls's Critique Of On Liberty / Robert Amdur -- Mill On Consensual Domination / Frank Lovett -- Autonomy, Tradition, And The Enforcement Of Morality / Wendy Donner -- Mill And Multiculturalism / Jeremy Waldron -- Mill, Liberty, And (genetic) Experiments In Living / Justine Burley -- John Stuart Mill, Ronald Dworkin, And Paternalism / Robert Young. Edited By C.l. Ten. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 228-236) And Index. This volume of essays covers the whole range of problems raised in and by Mill's On Liberty, including the concept of liberty, the toleration of diversity, freedom of expression, the value of allowing 'experiments in living', the basis of individual liberty, multiculturalism and the claims of minority cultural groups.