John Stuart Mill
Pour Mill, les gens doivent être libres de faire tout ce qui ne nuit pas aux autres – et les meilleures actions augmentent le bonheur, les plaisirs supérieurs comptant davantage.
Repères
A affiné l’utilitarisme et défendu la liberté individuelle avec le principe de non-nuisance.
Idées clés
- Principe de non-nuisance
- Plaisirs qualitatifs
- Droits égaux
Maîtres: Jeremy Bentham
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Influence
Influences reçues de 5
Platon
influencé par
Mill translated several of Plato’s dialogues (1834–35) and called the Socratic method of the dialogues unsurpassed as a discipline for correcting errors (Autobiography, 1873). J. S. Mill, Autobiography (1873), ch. 1; translations of Platonic dialogues in the Monthly Repository (1834–35)
Attestation: aussi dans InPhO · InPhO
Platon › 428–348 av. J.-C.
Jeremy Bentham élève de
élève de ✓
Mill was taught by his father James Mill, not by Bentham, but grew up in Bentham’s circle; he called his reading of Bentham’s Traités de législation (ed. Dumont) in 1821–22 an epoch in his life and in 1825–27 edited Bentham’s Rationale of Judicial Evidence. A mentorship rather than formal teaching. J. S. Mill, Autobiography (1873), chs. 3–4
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Jeremy Bentham › 1748–1832
Auguste Comte
influencé par
Mill took up Comte’s positive method and law of three stages in A System of Logic (1843); Auguste Comte and Positivism (1865) rejected the later system as despotic. J. S. Mill, A System of Logic (1843); Auguste Comte and Positivism (1865); SEP “John Stuart Mill”
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Auguste Comte › 1798–1857
Alexis de Tocqueville
influencé par
Mill reviewed both volumes of Democracy in America (1835, 1840) and took up Tocqueville’s ‘tyranny of the majority’ in On Liberty (1859). J. S. Mill, reviews of De la démocratie en Amérique, London and Westminster Review (1835), Edinburgh Review (1840); On Liberty (1859); SEP “John Stuart Mill”
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Alexis de Tocqueville › 1805–1859
Harriet Taylor Mill a influencé
influencé par
Mill’s Autobiography (1873) calls Taylor Mill co-author of On Liberty (1859) and source of the social ideas of the Political Economy; the extent of her share is disputed. J. S. Mill, Autobiography (1873); On Liberty (1859); Principles of Political Economy (1848); SEP “Harriet Taylor Mill”
Attestation: brouillon IA
a influencé
From 1830 Taylor Mill worked out her views in exchange with Mill, beginning with their essays on marriage and divorce (c. 1832); her ‘Enfranchisement of Women’ followed (1851). J. S. Mill and H. Taylor, essays on marriage and divorce (c. 1832), in F. A. Hayek, John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor (1951); H. Taylor Mill, “Enfranchisement of Women”, Westminster Review (1851); SEP “Harriet Taylor Mill”
Attestation: brouillon IA
Harriet Taylor Mill › 1807–1858
A influencé 13
Henry Sidgwick
a influencé
In the autobiographical preface to The Methods of Ethics (6th ed., 1901) Sidgwick recalled how Mill’s utilitarianism relieved him of arbitrary moral rules, though he doubted Mill’s proof. H. Sidgwick, The Methods of Ethics (6th ed., 1901), preface; SEP “Henry Sidgwick”
Attestation: brouillon IA
Henry Sidgwick › 1838–1900
William James
a influencé
James dedicated Pragmatism (1907) to the memory of Mill, from whom he had ‘first learned the pragmatic openness of mind’. W. James, Pragmatism (1907), dedication; SEP “William James”
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William James › 1842–1910
Bertrand Russell
a influencé ✓
Russell, Mill’s lay godson, gave up the first-cause argument on reading Mill’s Autobiography, as he recalled in 1927, and honoured him in a British Academy lecture (1955). B. Russell, “Why I Am Not a Christian” (1927); “John Stuart Mill”, Proceedings of the British Academy 41 (1955); J. S. Mill, Autobiography (1873); SEP “Bertrand Russell”
Bertrand Russell › 1872–1970
Isaiah Berlin
a influencé
Berlin read Mill as a defender of negative liberty and human diversity whose liberalism went beyond his utilitarianism (‘John Stuart Mill and the Ends of Life’, 1959). I. Berlin, “John Stuart Mill and the Ends of Life” (1959), in Four Essays on Liberty (1969)
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Isaiah Berlin › 1909–1997
Paul Feyerabend
a influencé
Feyerabend grounded his principle of proliferation – develop rival theories to test accepted ones – in Mill’s defence of free discussion in On Liberty (Against Method, 1975). P. K. Feyerabend, Against Method (1975); J. S. Mill, On Liberty (1859); SEP “Paul Feyerabend”
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Paul Feyerabend › 1924–1994
Peter Singer
a influencé
Singer took up the classical utilitarianism of Bentham, Mill and Sidgwick, judging actions by their consequences for the interests of all affected (Practical Ethics, 1979). P. Singer, Practical Ethics (1979); J. S. Mill, Utilitarianism (1861/63); SEP “John Stuart Mill”
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Peter Singer › né(e) en 1946
Tout afficher (13)Afficher moins
Georg Brandes
a influencé
Brandes translated Mill’s The Subjection of Women into Danish (1869), met him in London in 1870, and drew on his liberalism in Main Currents of Nineteenth-Century Literature (1872–90). J. S. Mill, Kvindernes Underkuelse, tr. G. Brandes (1869); G. Brandes, Hovedstrømninger i det 19de Aarhundredes Litteratur (1872–90)
Attestation: brouillon IA
Georg Brandes › 1842–1927
Harald Høffding
a influencé
Høffding’s Ethics (1887) made the welfare of all the measure of morality, after Bentham and Mill, and ‘Democratic Radicalism’ (1889) defended it against Brandes. H. Høffding, Etik (1887); “Demokratisk Radikalisme”, Tilskueren (1889)
Attestation: brouillon IA
Harald Høffding › 1843–1931
Yan Fu
a influencé
Yan Fu translated Mill’s On Liberty (Qunji quanjie lun, 1903) and part of the System of Logic (1905); how faithfully he rendered Mill’s liberty is debated. Yan Fu, Qunji quanjie lun (1903); Mule mingxue (1905); B. Schwartz, In Search of Wealth and Power (1964); M. K. Huang, The Meaning of Freedom: Yan Fu and the Origins of Chinese Liberalism (2008)
Attestation: brouillon IA
Yan Fu › 1854–1921
R. M. Hare
a influencé
Hare linked his two levels of moral thinking – intuitive everyday rules and critical utilitarian reasoning – to Mill’s secondary principles and first principle (Moral Thinking, 1981). R. M. Hare, Moral Thinking: Its Levels, Method, and Point (1981); J. S. Mill, Utilitarianism (1861/63); SEP “Richard Mervyn Hare”
Attestation: brouillon IA
R. M. Hare › 1919–2002
Carole Pateman
a influencé
Pateman drew on Mill’s view that taking part in politics educates citizens for her theory of participatory democracy (Participation and Democratic Theory, 1970). C. Pateman, Participation and Democratic Theory (1970); J. S. Mill, Considerations on Representative Government (1861)
Attestation: brouillon IA
Carole Pateman › né(e) en 1940
Kwame Anthony Appiah
a influencé
Appiah opened The Ethics of Identity (2005) with Mill’s ideal of individuality from On Liberty and asked how it fits with social identities. K. A. Appiah, The Ethics of Identity (2005); J. S. Mill, On Liberty (1859)
Attestation: brouillon IA
Kwame Anthony Appiah › né(e) en 1954
Elizabeth Anderson
a influencé
Anderson read Mill’s ‘experiments in living’ as a model of how ethical knowledge is gained and revised through experience (‘John Stuart Mill and Experiments in Living’, 1991). E. Anderson, “John Stuart Mill and Experiments in Living”, Ethics 102 (1991); J. S. Mill, On Liberty (1859)
Attestation: brouillon IA
Elizabeth Anderson › né(e) en 1959
Critique
Critiques reçues de 7
Wilhelm Dilthey
critiqué par
Dilthey rejected the claim of Mill’s Logic (1843, Book VI) that the moral sciences must borrow the methods of the natural sciences, setting understanding (Verstehen) against explanation. W. Dilthey, Einleitung in die Geisteswissenschaften (1883), Preface; Ideen über eine beschreibende und zergliedernde Psychologie (1894); J. S. Mill, A System of Logic (1843), Book VI
Attestation: brouillon IA
Wilhelm Dilthey › 1833–1911
Gottlob Frege
critiqué par
Frege rejected Mill’s view of numbers as properties of aggregates and of arithmetic as inductive, mocking it as an arithmetic of pebbles and gingerbread (Grundlagen der Arithmetik, 1884, §§ 7–11). G. Frege, Die Grundlagen der Arithmetik (1884), §§ 7–11, 23–25; J. S. Mill, A System of Logic (1843), book II, ch. 6
Attestation: brouillon IA
Gottlob Frege › 1848–1925
Edmund Husserl
critiqué par
In the Prolegomena to the Logical Investigations (1900) Husserl rejected Mill’s psychologism, which treats the laws of logic, including non-contradiction, as empirical generalisations about thinking. E. Husserl, Logische Untersuchungen I: Prolegomena zur reinen Logik (1900), chs. 3–5; SEP “Psychologism”
Attestation: brouillon IA
Edmund Husserl › 1859–1938
George Edward Moore
critiqué par
Moore charged Mill with the naturalistic fallacy for inferring ‘desirable’ from ‘desired’, as if ‘desirable’ meant ‘able to be desired’ like ‘visible’ (Principia Ethica, 1903, §§ 39–40). G. E. Moore, Principia Ethica (1903), ch. III, §§ 39–40; J. S. Mill, Utilitarianism (1861), ch. 4
Attestation: brouillon IA
George Edward Moore › 1873–1958
G. E. M. Anscombe
critiqué par
Anscombe held that Mill, like Kant, ignores the need to stipulate which description of an act is relevant, so his principle lacks content (‘Modern Moral Philosophy’, 1958). G. E. M. Anscombe, “Modern Moral Philosophy”, Philosophy 33 (1958), 1–19
Attestation: brouillon IA
G. E. M. Anscombe › 1919–2001
John Rawls
critiqué par
Rawls objected that Mill’s utilitarian defence of liberty makes liberties hostage to uncertain calculations; justice as fairness gives them priority (A Theory of Justice, 1971). J. Rawls, A Theory of Justice (1971), § 33; Lectures on the History of Political Philosophy (2007), lectures on Mill
Attestation: brouillon IA
John Rawls › 1921–2002
Bernard Williams
critiqué par
Williams’s critique of utilitarianism, aimed chiefly at Smart, extends to Mill’s: it weighs lives impersonally and leaves no place for integrity (Utilitarianism: For and Against, 1973). B. Williams, “A Critique of Utilitarianism”, in J. J. C. Smart & B. Williams, Utilitarianism: For and Against (1973); Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy (1985), chs. 5–6
Attestation: brouillon IA
Bernard Williams › 1929–2003
Critiques adressées à 2
Aristote
a critiqué
Mill dismissed Aristotle’s categories as ‘a mere catalogue’ of everyday distinctions and held that the syllogism, taken as proof, begs the question (A System of Logic, 1843). J. S. Mill, A System of Logic (1843), book I, ch. 3; book II, ch. 3
Attestation: brouillon IA
Aristote › 384–322 av. J.-C.
Emmanuel Kant
a critiqué
Mill argued that when Kant derives actual duties from the categorical imperative he shows no contradiction, only consequences no one would choose (Utilitarianism, 1861, ch. 1). J. S. Mill, Utilitarianism (1861), ch. 1; ch. 5
Attestation: brouillon IA
Emmanuel Kant › 1724–1804
Œuvres
Logique inductive et méthode des sciences – la logique comme psychologie.
- 1859De la liberté
Le principe de non-nuisance et la tyrannie de la majorité.
- 1863L’Utilitarisme
Mieux vaut être un Socrate insatisfait qu’un imbécile satisfait.
Pour une complète égalité juridique entre les sexes.
Position
Mill élargit l’utilitarisme de Bentham : les actions sont justes dans la mesure où elles favorisent le bonheur, mais les plaisirs diffèrent en qualité – « mieux vaut être Socrate insatisfait qu’un imbécile satisfait ». Dans De la liberté, il formula le principe du tort : la société ne peut restreindre la liberté d’un individu que pour empêcher qu’il soit fait du tort à autrui. Il en exemptait les « barbares » et les « états sociaux arriérés » : le despotisme, écrivait-il, est pour eux un mode de gouvernement légitime, « pourvu que la fin soit leur amélioration » – une vue marquée par ses décennies de travail pour la Compagnie des Indes orientales. La liberté de pensée et de discussion, et la culture de l’individualité, sont essentielles au progrès humain. Dans De l’assujettissement des femmes, il plaida pour la pleine égalité juridique et sociale des femmes, et au Parlement pour le droit de vote des femmes. Son Système de logique fondait l’inférence scientifique sur l’expérience. On le tient souvent pour le philosophe anglophone le plus influent du XIXe siècle, et De la liberté est devenu un classique du libéralisme.
Vie et contexte
Né à Londres en 1806, John Stuart Mill reçut de son père James Mill une éducation rigoureuse et apprit le grec à trois ans. Une crise morale à vingt ans lui fit comprendre la valeur du sentiment et de la poésie. Il travailla pendant 35 ans pour la Compagnie des Indes orientales, partagea sa vie intellectuelle avec l’écrivaine Harriet Taylor, qu’il épousa en 1851 et dont il souligna la part dans son œuvre, et fut membre du Parlement. Il mourut à Avignon en 1873.
Autres œuvres principales
- Principes d’économie politique (1848)
Apparaît dans
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