John Stuart Mill Quotes

Biography: John Stuart Mill is renowned for his contributions to philosophy, part... more Biography: John Stuart Mill is renowned for his contributions to philosophy, particularly utilitarianism and liberalism. Born in 1806 in London, he was a child prodigy educated by his father, James Mill. His works, including "On Liberty" and "Utilitarianism," have profoundly influenced modern thought on political and ethical theory. less

"Protection against the tyranny of the magistrate is not enough""That so few now dare to be eccentric marks the chief danger of the time""The struggle between Liberty and Authority is the most conspicuous feature in the portions of history with which we are earliest familiar""The worth of the State, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it""Liberty consists in doing what one desires""The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others""It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied""Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.""The principle itself of liberty and the Social Contract is a rights-logic applicable to all human beings without discrimination.""I am not aware that any community has a right to force another to be civilized.""The duty of man is the same in respect to his own nature as in respect to everything else, namely not to follow it but to amend it.""The amount of eccentricity in a society has generally been proportional to the amount of genius, mental vigor, and courage which it contained.""The despotism of custom is everywhere the standing hindrance to human advancement.""There is no necessity to separate the inward and outward life, no necessity ever to make a compromise between some inward principle and outward duty""All good things which exist are the fruits of originality""There are many truths of which the full meaning cannot be realized until personal experience has brought it home""Conservatism is not so much a banner of principles as a disposition of things and persons""The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is that it is robbing the human race""The most important thing women have to do is to stir up the zeal of women themselves.""One person with a belief is equal to ninety-nine who have only interests."

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