Ethics Quiz 5- John Stuart Mill

Freedom of Thought+Expressing Opinions+Pursuit+Assembly

• interferance of liberty

  • justified only to PROTECT others from harm

  • society shouldn’t interfere if the person harms themselves

    • self-harming action: perpetrator is, in effect, giving AND receiving their own punishment

      …doesn’t apply to small children or to people who can’t take care of themselves, like an underdeveloped society

Private Action CAN CAUSE HARM to the Community

• a man, because of intemperance or extravangance is unable to support/educate his children, should be justly PUNISHED

  • HOWEVER, Mill believes the punishment should be for breach of duty to his family and not for his own private extravagant behavior

• man getting drunk

  • man shouldn’t be punished for being drunk, BUT a polic officer who gets drunk on duty should be punished

• private acts of bad conduct can give scandal to others

  • Mill concedes that bad example → bad effect on others

  • HOWEVER< Mill believes the display of bad conduct that does great harm to the agent himself will have a positive effect to the audience so they can AVOID the harmful self-injuring behavior | no negative influence, rather a lesson learned on what not to do

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