Should Society Limit Personal Freedom

Submitted By allylar94@gmail.com
Words: 641
Pages: 3
Open Document
John Stuart Mill was a utilitarian, English philosopher and liberal thinker of the 19th century. John Stuart Mill questioned “the extent to which a government or society should limit the personal freedoms of its members.” I think that society should be given personal freedoms to a certain extent. We should be able identify one’s societies or free will. John Stuart Mill says that there must be a balance between personal liberty and adhering to rules of proper behavior as a social citizen. Since we are not complete isolated from society, it can affect our actions and how it affect others. For example, taking risks in life causes no harm to oneself but when someone starts to seek what society does individuality is questioned. Being silenced and taking the safe route on something you believe in, would not result in the industrial and other revolutions around the world.
I believe that should be a limit to personal freedom for the good of society. I do agree with Mill because I believe that society could only function as a social machine is if people are strictly kept to a code of conduct. But you could consider the rights that are taken away under such a system. I think the people and government officials should work together to make certain rules and how they get enforced. It is not fair how a tiny fraction of American politicians decide the law of the land and how it affects every citizen. There are always two sides of laws that humane or ethical, based on their morals. But since we live in a diverse world, we should have laws that adhere to our diverse world. It may seem logical to punish people who murder or steal from others, but what about those who are punished by controversial laws regarding rights to marry whomever we want or the right to sell homemade products without a license? What about the laws that existed in the past which prevented African Americans from even being citizens or women from voting? These laws were and are in place in many places in America, yet many find them unfair. As a Filipino American living in America these issues matter to me because I live in two different worlds. There is one world is with my Filipino heritage and the other is adapting to a “typical” American life. I have to adapt to both worlds because I was influenced
Show More

Related Documents: Should Society Limit Personal Freedom

Philosophy Exam Review, Terms Essay

Philosophy Exam Review Definitions: Philosophy- Thinking about thinking or the love of wisdom Normative- In aesthetics, a term to refers to an approach to defining art. A normative definition involves defining art according to specific standards, or norms. Values- Induction (Inductive reasoning) – A reasoning process that involves drawing a general conclusion from specific observations. Logical Consistency- In logic, refers to statements that do not contradict each other Rehabilitations-…

Words 1168 - Pages 5

Plato Vs Mill

The ideas and theories of major philosophers John Stuart Mill and Plato are without a doubt essential to our study and interpretation of politics. One of Plato’s greatest works, The Republic, and Mill’s On Liberty and other essays, offer us some crucial insight about the concepts of knowledge and political structure that should ultimately be assessed. In the Republic, Plato offers us this idea of a knowledge hierarchy, in which there are only a few people who possess not only a higher degree of knowledge…

Words 1409 - Pages 6

Essay about John Stuart Mill

University Unit 2 Assignment: A Major Contributor To Ethical Theory Ethics and the Legal Environment Professor Mighdoll May 17, 2015 John Stuart Mill was born in 1806 to James Mill in Pentonville, London. As a child, he was subjected to a rigorous education by his father, in which he mastered English and classical languages. He also studied the law, logic and philosophy. At 17 he began a career with the British East India Company and suffered depression before turning 21. In 1852, Mill married Harriet…

Words 932 - Pages 4

Karl Marx And Frederick Douglass Essay

Douglass acts as both the narrator and the protagonist, and he appears quite different in these two roles. Writing and oratory became, for him, the act of creating a public and historical self; some saw him as “America’s black Jeremiah. Using his political sermons, he helped link his own story to the spiritual autobiographies familiar to the nineteenth century Americans. He saw…

Words 1608 - Pages 7

Essay about Marriage Equality

the debate over the equality of marriage in the United States has not yet lead to a unified solution. Often referred to as marriage equality, same-sex marriage arguments in the United States have been spiking controversial debates ever since Richard John Baker and James Michael McConnell applied for marriage license at Hennepin County District Court on May 18, 1970. The clerk at the court, Gerald Nelson, denied the couple’s application without any consideration. According to Mr. Nelson, as they were…

Words 2044 - Pages 9

Essay The Macroeconomic Perspectives of David Ricardo, Karl Marx, and John Stuart Mill

The Macroeconomic Perspectives of David Ricardo, Karl Marx, and John Stuart Mill ECON 350 19 November 2012 Abstract The author surveys three influential economists of the Classical era—Ricardo, Marx, and John Stuart Mill—and introduces the reader to their Macroeconomic perspectives based on some of their more prominent Macroeconomic theories. David Ricardo David Ricardo was a Classical Economist who lived from 1772 to 1823. In his professional life he wore…

Words 2147 - Pages 9

Compare And Contrast Hayek And Mill

Hayek and Mill, Compare Contrast This essay will compare and contrast the views of two highly revered political philosophers, Freidrich Hayek and John Stuart Mill. Hayek and Mill are very well known for their philosophy of liberty. Hayek the classic negative liberty thinker, negative liberty meaning free from political or outside interference (Berlin, 1958, p. 139). Mill a positive liberty thinker, the freedom to live the life you choose and to be your own master (Berlin, 1958, p. 130-131). Hayek…

Words 332 - Pages 2

Enlightened Despotism Research Paper

where science and philosophy become the centre of thought. And for that reason the Enlightenment could also be referred to as “The Age of Reason”. The period is believed to have begun with the close of the thirty years war in 1648 and ended with the French revolution in 1789. One of the major contributing countries to the Enlightenment was England, with the explosion of intellectual publications believed to have begun when the Englishman , Francis Bacon…

Words 1790 - Pages 8

John Locke Research Paper

Locke’s Rapid Rise to an Influential Innovation "Of all the men we meet with, nine parts of ten are what they are, good or evil useful or not, by their education. Tis this that makes the great difference in mankind." (Locke) John Locke explains in this quotation, the importance of education. Locke is a man to stress education and he expresses in this quote how education is what makes a man. He believes no matter a man's propensity, naturally, or a man's born inclinations, it is his education in…

Words 1516 - Pages 7

Philosophy Essay 3

Adrien Tang 30829139 PHIL 102 – 004 What is philosophy? Philosophical views and their criticism A philosophy is a comprehensive system of ideas about human nature and the nature of the reality we live in. The definition of philosophy varies with different idealists. Socrates identifies philosophy as the will to not just live life, but to constantly question and evaluate it. He believes people should stop living instinctively, like birds that fly south for the winter. Rather, everyone should stop…

Words 2417 - Pages 10