I really enjoyed reading Mill's work. I think it is so interesting how people like this who seem so radical back then are not even radical today. However, in today's standards I am fairly conservative so I would probably be the one pointing the finger saying oh my goodness. What I like about reading this older literature though is that it makes me realize the people who were so radical back then really were not that bad and their ideas were pushed through and made a better world. This makes me want to try and understand radical people today.
Mill really stepped up and represented the people who were not able to stand up for themselves. I really like the line in the beginning of On Liberty when he says "If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind" page 515. He believes this is an important principle because if you do silence that opinion that you are actually robbing mankind. This is true because look at for instance his opinion for women to be equal. He in the large picture would have been one of the only people to have felt that way, but if he had been forced to be silenced then women today may still be forced to be domestic housewives. Being a woman that would not be fun for me!
I also like how he feels about people living for a purpose. He believes it is a waste to just live through life being told how you think and never really finding yourself. It is very important that everyone finds their purpose, because if they do not find their purpose they will never know the impact they could have made in the world.
When he talks about women's rights he even mentions that men really do not want women to be completely obedient. Unless of course they are just total jerks. In fact he points out the fact that men do want to have a connection with their wives. This would have been a bold statement for him to make. Men probably did feel this way, but they would have never admitted it. It is STILL hard to find a guy my age that would admit he wants some deep connection. With guys they only like to admit its all about the physical attraction.
I really liked how Mill spoke up for the people who needed the most representation. He did not fear standing out or being different.
About Me
- Jenny
- I am a Senior at Mercer and will be finished with school after this summer! I am going to work for Cedarstream, and I will be doing Marketing and Sales for them.
2 comments:
Jenny,
Congratulations on having completed your final post!
You certainly pick a great author and topic to go out on here. You do a nice job of discussing Mill, and of relating his radical ideas to our time and to your own experiences. You demonstrate in this post that you have learned a lot in the course, and you are looking at the literature and culture of the past in a more sophisticated and aware way. Nice job!
I think Mill could have possibly been a mini radical if he lived in this day and age because there is still inequality between men and women. It isn't as distinct as before of course but it's still there.
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