John Stuart Mill was a child of radicalism, born in 1806 into a
rarefied realm of philosophic discourse. His father, who with
Jeremy Bentham was a founding member of the utilitarian movement,
was responsible for his son's education and saw to it that he was
trained in the classics at an extraordinarily early age. In 1823
Mill gave up a career in law to become a clerk at the East India
Company, where his father worked. Like his father, he rose to the
position of chief examiner, which he held until he retired from the
company in 1858.
While still in his teens, Mill began publishing articles and essays
in various publications and became an editor of the London and
Westminster Review, in 1835. In 1843 he published System of Logic,
followed by Principles of Political Economy in 1848. Other
important works include On Liberty (1859), Utilitarianism (1863),
The Subjection of Women (written 1861, published 1869), and
Autobiography (published posthumously in 1873).
Mill married Harriet Hardy Taylor in 1851, and her influence on his
thinking and writing has been widely cited. The couple worked
together on On Liberty, and the essay is dedicated to her
memory-she died in 1858. After serving as a member of Parliament
from 1865, to 1868, Mill retired to France and died at Avignon in
1873.
It took scholars several decades before they fully examined John
Stuart Mill's unique and systematic contributions to ethical and
logical traditions. For today's students of economics, philosophy,
and politics he remains a vibrant and preeminent figure.
Ask a Question About this Product More... |