J.S. Mill and Morally Free Individuals

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at the J.S. Mill book, "In Liberty and Necessity." The author stresses a key point in Mill's argument on moral freedom; that it is essential that people have the opportunity to make choices regardless of others to a certain degree, which goes along with the idea of moral conscience.

From the Paper:

"In "Liberty and Necessity," Mill argues that morally free individuals have the capacity to modify and command their own character and that the completely free individual is a person of confirmed virtue." In chapter 3 of On Liberty, Mill identifies those circumstances essential to the pursuit of moral freedom. He is emphatic on the idea that humanity should not perpetuate a conformist society and that people should allow themselves to be directed by their self-will and strong desires irrespective of whether they are positively or negatively guided. In this chapter, Mill also recognizes the limitations that society imposes on an individual's liberty. In stating requirements for liberty, Mill identifies the actions that allow all individuals the opportunity to gain moral freedom."

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