The Individual And Society.

The Individual And Society

Mill presents an interesting position on the authority that society maintains over the individual member. Mill places more pressure of conduct on the individual as he opens the door for society to pass judgment on a person who doesn't have sufficient regard for him/herself. Mill contends that there needs to be a clear distinction between where individual liberty takes precedence and where society has the right to intervene. This distinction becomes quite foggy throughout this chapter. Mill's comments on the individual in relation to society in the fourth chapter of On Liberty regarding the well being of the society as a whole are confusing. The beginning of the chapter introduces the need for members of the society to follow a code of conduct. He says this because he believes we are indebted to our society because of our involvement in it.

Mill says that people can advise him/her to adopt self-regarding virtues but ultimately, each person has the complete freedom to make their own decision.

Mike Mills (REM)

Mill Street, Warwick

English: British East India Company flag plate in ...

If a person does not adopt self-regarding qualities, society cannot publicly denounce him/her, although they can hold their own personal negative opinions. These private opinions are what ultimately may hurt a person who is not pursuing what society perceives as his/her own best interests. This is referred to as a natural penalty that is incurred by bad self-regarding interests. In addition to that natural penalty, Mill states that in a harmful self-regarding action the only harmed person is the perpetrator who in effect is giving and receiving his own punishment. He says something quite uncompassionate about the individual when he says, "there is no room for [individuals in the judicial system whose] conduct affects the interests of no persons beside himself." (73) This statement is strange to me because it is...