John Stuart Mill

www.utilitarian.net/jsmill

To do as one would be done by, and to love one's neighbour as oneself, constitute the ideal perfection of utilitarian morality.

Utilitarianism, London, 1863

Latest Updates

new additions underlined

December 1, 2007

Just released: John Stuart Mill: Victorian Firebrand, by Richard Reeves.

March 25, 2007

Mill and Sidgwick, Imperialism and Racism. By Bart Schultz. Utilitas, March, 2007.

November 8, 2006

Narrative, Imagination, and the Religion of Humanity in Mill's Ethics. By Colin Heydt. Journal of the History of Philosophy, 2006.

October 31, 2006

Mill, Bentham and 'Internal Culture'. By Colin Heydt. British Journal for the History of Philosophy, May, 2006.

The Influence of Mary Bentham on John Stuart Mill. By Catherine Pease-Watkin. Journal of Bentham Studies, 2006.

June 25, 2006

Note on N. W. Senior's Political Economy. In Senior's Outline of the Science of Political Economy, London, 1836.

February 23, 2006

The John Stuart Mill Bicentennial Conference, 1806-2006.

The Ninth Conference of the International Society for Utilitarian Studies [ISUS] will be held at University College London, scheduled for 5-7 April 2006, to mark the occasion of the bicentenary of the birth of John Stuart Mill (1806-1873).

University College London has an intimate connection with the English Utilitarians and Philosophic Radicals. Its foundation owed much to their efforts, and was greatly influenced by their educational philosophy. Moreover, John Stuart Mill himself attended UCL to hear the lectures of John Austin, the first Professor of Jurisprudence. It is, therefore, the most apposite venue for this Conference, which aims to reassess the life, thought and legacy of J. S. Mill and his relevance for the twenty-first century.

It is difficult to exaggerate John Stuart Mill's significance and influence. He was not merely an astonishingly versatile thinker who made major contributions to many areas of philosophy. He was also a 'public moralist' and public intellectual par excellence, a committed thinker who, by the last two to three decades of his life, obtained a rare ascendancy over his contemporaries as well as over thinkers and students of subsequent generations. As befits this fundamentally cosmopolitan thinker, his reputation and influence reached far beyond his native country. His major works (as well as some less well known) found translators in several languages very soon after their publication in English. Refugees from various foreign countries, escaping persecution by despotic regimes, could always count on Mill's support � not just moral and political, but also, very often, generous financial support. With a moral earnestness that is bound to surprise people in our more cynical times, Mill made strenuous efforts, 'either as theorist or as practical man, to effect the greatest amount of good compatible with his opportunities'.

Coming fifteen years after the completion of the monumental edition of The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill by the Mill Project of the University of Toronto headed by the late Professor John M. Robson, the Conference will both benefit from, and substantially contribute to, the ever-growing corpus of Mill scholarship. Given the amazing range of Mill's interests and the bewildering variety of fields and disciplines to which he made substantial contributions, the study of his work and thought suffers from the inevitable compartmentalisation that has resulted from the ever-increasing specialisation of knowledge and the development of distinct disciplines and sub-disciplines since his death. Thus, although many people know something about Mill, very few people have a comprehensive picture of Mill. There are many Mill constituencies, many different publics interested in Mill, but rarely, if ever, does a full picture emerge. This Conference aspires to assemble together all the individuals and groups interested in all aspects of Mill's thought and writings and to enable them to benefit from one another's insights. It is expected to be the largest gathering of its kind ever to take place.

Besides lectures and papers on all aspects of Mill's philosophy and thought more generally, the Conference aspires to offer assessments of Mill's activities and strategies as a public figure, a public intellectual engaged in a number of political and intellectual battles. Moreover, Mill's impact on other thinkers, from his lifetime to today, will be of great interest to the Conference, as will be the reception of his writings and ideas in different countries and continents, both during his life and since. Particular attention will also be paid to his place in overall British intellectual history. Papers and panels on any aspect of Mill's thought, activism and impact on the world from his lifetime to today are invited from practitioners of any discipline. Also, papers and panels related to Mill's thought and work only indirectly (e.g. focusing on thinkers or ideas related to him and in particular James Mill, Jeremy Bentham, and others in the utilitarian tradition) will be welcomed by the Conference Committee.

The Conference will be organized by Dr Georgios Varouxakis (Queen Mary, University of London) with the assistance of Professor Paul Kelly (LSE) and Professor Philip Schofield and The Bentham Project (UCL). Hosted by The Bentham Project at UCL, the Conference is being generously sponsored by The British Academy and will be under the auspices of the International Society for Utilitarian Studies and The 'Political Thought' Specialist Group of the Political Studies Association of the U.K.

For more information, proposals for panels, papers, Keynote speakers, or anything else related to the Conference, please contact Georgios Varouxakis (g.varouxakis@qmul.ac.uk).

June 12, 2005

The Ethics of Identity. By Kwame Anthony Appiah. The New York Times, June 12, 2005.

May 13, 2005

John Stuart Mill. The Literary Encyclopedia.

May 11, 2005

Mill between Aristotle & Bentham. By Martha C. Nussbaum. Daedalus, March 22, 2004.

Alfred Russel Wallace's Campaign to Nationalize Land. By Mason Gaffney. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, October 1, 1997.

February 4, 2005

J.S. Mill and the Diversity of Utilitarianism. By Daniel Jacobson. Philosophers' Imprint, 2003.

previous updates...

Writings by John Stuart Mill

[books / book excerpts]

� The Logic of the Moral Sciences. Excerpted from A System of Logic. London, 1843, 8th ed. 1872. [French translation]

� Essays on Some Unsettled Questions of Political Economy. London, 1844.

� Principles of Political Economy. London, 1848, 7th ed. 1871.

� On Liberty. London, 1859. [French translation]

� Dissertations and Discussions. London, 1859, 4th ed. 1882.

� Considerations on Representative Government. London, 1861.

� Utilitarianism. London, 1863. Reprinted from Fraser's Magazine, 1861. [French translation]

� Auguste Comte and Positivism. London, 1865. Reprinted from Westminster Review, 1865. [French translation]

� An Examination of Sir Hamilton's Philosophy. London, 1865.

� The Subjection of Women. London, 1869. [French translation] [Spanish translation]

� Autobiography. London, 1873. [French translation]

� Three Essays on Religion [Nature + Utility of Religion + Theism]. London, 1874.

� Chapters on Socialism. Fortnightly Review, 1879.

[articles]

� Free Discussion (1). Morning Chronicle, 1823.

� Free Discussion (2). Morning Chronicle, 1823.

� Free Discussion (3). Morning Chronicle, 1823.

� A Defense of Bentham. Excerpted from 'Whewell on Moral Philosophy'. Westminster Review, 1836.

� Note on N. W. Senior's Political Economy. In Senior's Outline of the Science of Political Economy, London, 1836.

� The Negro Question. Fraser's Magazine, 1850.

� Bentham. 1838, 2nd ed. 1859.

� The Contest in America. Fraser's Magazine, 1862.

� Inaugural Address. Delivered to the University of St. Andrews, 1867.

� Meetings in Royal Parks. Delivered in Parliament, 1867.

� Speech in Favour of Capital Punishment. Delivered in Parliament, 1868.

� Thornton on Labour and its Claims. Fortnightly Review, 1869.

� Theism. In Three Essays on Religion, London, 1874.

� Nature. In Three Essays on Religion, London, 1874.

� Utility of Religion. In Three Essays on Religion, London, 1874.

[letters]

� To James Mill. April 25, 1821.

� To ? March 18, 1840.

� To Gustave D'Eichthal. January 10, 1842.

� To ? May 13, 1865.

� To a Gentleman in Ohio. September 1, 1865.

Writings about John Stuart Mill

[dictionary / encyclopaedia entries]

� John Stuart Mill. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature.

� John Stuart Mill. The Columbia Encyclopedia.

� John Stuart Mill. The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics.

� John Stuart Mill. Encyclop�dia Britannica.

� John Stuart Mill. Encyclop�dia Britannica (1911).

� John Stuart Mill. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

� John Stuart Mill. Island of Freedom.

� John Stuart Mill. The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism.

� John Stuart Mill. The Literary Encyclopedia.

� John Stuart Mill. The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy.

� John Stuart Mill. Spartacus Educational.

� John Stuart Mill. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

� John Stuart Mill. Wikipedia.

[other writings]

� Law Reform in England. The United States Democratic Review, 1851.

� John Stuart Mill and his Residence. Anonymous. Littell's Living Age, 1868.

� John Stuart Mill. By G. M. Towle. Appleton's Journal, 1870.

� John Stuart Mill. By M. D. Conway. Harper's New Monthly Magazine, 1873.

� The Reality of Duty. Anonymous. Littell's Living Age, 1876.

� John Stuart Mill (I). By Lyell Adams. New Englander and Yale Review, 1877.

� John Stuart Mill (II). By Lyell Adams. New Englander and Yale Review, 1877.

� John Stuart Mill (III). By Lyell Adams. New Englander and Yale Review, 1877.

� John Stuart Mill and the Destruction of Theism. By President Shairp. Princeton Review, 1878.

� James and John Stuart Mill. Littell's Living Age, 1882.

� John Stuart Mill and the London and Westminster Review. By C. Marion D. Robertson Towers. The Atlantic Monthly, 1892.

� A Letter to John Stuart Mill. By Winthrop More Daniels. The Atlantic Monthly, 1900.

� John Stuart Mill. By Leslie Stephen. In The English Utilitarians. London, 1900, vol. III.

� Variations in the Editions of J. S. Mill's Principles of Political Economy. By M. A. Ellis. Economic Journal, 1906.

� Biography. By O. M. W. Sprague. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Cambridge, 1921.

� John Stuart Mill: Traditional and Revisionist Interpretations. By John Gray. Literature and Liberty, 1979.

� Early Buddhism and John Stuart Mill's Thinking. By Vijitha Rajapakse. Philosophy East and West, 1987.

� J. S. Mill: the Utilitarian Influence in the Demise of laissez-faire. By Ellen Frankel Paul. Journal of Libertarian Studies, 1978.

� Wallace's Campaign to Nationalize Land. By M. Gaffney. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, October 1, 1997.

� Utility and Preferences. By Soshichi Uchii. October 25, 1998.

� The Worm at the Root of the Passions: Poetry and Sympathy in Mill's Utilitarianism. By L. A. Paul. Utilitas, 1998.

� The Carlyle-Mill "Negro Question" Debate. ca. 2000.

� Mill, Liberty, and the Facts of Life. By Shannon C. Stimson and Murray Milgate. 2001.

� Mill's "Proof" of the Principle of Utility. By Geoffrey Sayre-McCord. Social Philosophy and Policy, 2001.

� J.S. Mill and the Diversity of Utilitarianism. By Daniel Jacobson. Philosophers' Imprint, 2003.

� Mill between Aristotle & Bentham. By Martha C. Nussbaum. Daedalus, March 22, 2004.

� The Ethics of Identity. By Kwame Anthony Appiah. The New York Times, June 12, 2005.

� The Influence of Mary Bentham on John Stuart Mill. By Catherine Pease-Watkin. Journal of Bentham Studies, 2006.

� Narrative, Imagination, and the Religion of Humanity in Mill's Ethics. By Colin Heydt. Journal of the History of Philosophy, 2006.

� Mill, Bentham and 'Internal Culture'. By Colin Heydt. British Journal for the History of Philosophy, May, 2006.

� Mill and Sidgwick, Imperialism and Racism. By Bart Schultz. Utilitas, March, 2007.

[reviews]

� Autobiography. New Englander and Yale Review, 1874.

� Autobiography. Scribner's Monthly, 1874.

� Autobiography. North American Review, 1874.

� Autobiography. Littell's Living Age, 1874.

� Autobiography and Three Essays on Religion. New Englander and Yale Review, 1875.

� Considerations on Representative Government. New Englander and Yale Review, 1862.

� Dissertations and Discussions, Vols. I-III. New Englander and Yale Review, 1866.

� Dissertations and Discussions, Vol. IV. New Englander and Yale Review, 1867.

� Dissertations and Discussions, Vol. I. North American Review, 1865.

� Dissertations and Discussions, Vol. IV. North American Review, 1868.

� Examination of Sir Hamilton's Philosophy. New Englander and Yale Review, 1865.

� Inaugural Address at the University of St. Andrew's. North American Review, 1865.

� On Liberty. North America Review, 1863.

� On Liberty. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Cambridge, 1921.

� The Philosophy of Auguste Comte. New Englander and Yale Review, 1866.

� Principles of Political Economy. The Prospective Review, 1848.

� Principles of Political Economy. North American Review, 1848.

� Principles of Political Economy. North American Review, 1864.

� Principles of Political Economy. DeBow's Review, 1867.

� Principles of Political Economy. New Englander and Yale Review, 1872.

� Principles of Political Economy. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Cambridge, 1921.

� The Subjection of Women. North American Review, 1869.

� The Subjection of Women. New Englander and Yale Review, 1869.

� A System of Logic. North American Review, 1854.

� A System of Logic. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Cambridge, 1921.

� Three Essays on Religion. North American Review, 1875.

� Utilitarianism. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Cambridge, 1921.

General websites

� Erratic Impact.

� History of Economic Thought.

� John Stuart Mill.

� Vintage Mill.

Miscellaneous

� Bibliography of John Stuart Mill.

part of Pablo Stafforini's Utilitarian Philosophers series

David Hume � Jeremy Bentham � William Godwin � James Mill

John Stuart Mill � Henry Sidgwick � R. M. Hare � Peter Singer

My first adhesion to a definite Ethical system was to the Utilitarianism of Mill: I found in this relief from the apparently external and arbitrary pressure of moral rules which I had been educated to obey, and which presented themselves to me as to some extent doubtful and confused; and sometimes, even when clear, as merely dogmatic, unreasoned, incoherent.

Henry Sidgwick