On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
With an Introduction byW. L. Courtney, LL.D. The Walter Scott Publishing Co., Ltd.London and Felling-on-TyneNew York and Melbourne To the beloved and deplored memory of her who was the inspirer, and in part the author, of all that is best in my writings—the friend and wife whose exalted sense of truth and right was my […]
Second Treatise of Government by John Locke
Contents: Digitized by Dave Gowan. John Locke’s “Second Treatise of Government” was published in 1690. The complete unabridged text has been republished several times in edited commentaries. This text is recovered entire from the paperback book, “John Locke Second Treatise of Government”, Edited, with an Introduction, By C.B. McPherson, Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis and Cambridge, […]
Ethics of the whole
In this paper, I will observe if we can apply classical ethical concepts to the whole and if humanity is able to judge its actions on a holistic realm. More precisely, I will see if Mill’s utilitarianism and Kant’s deontology can be applicable in justifying actions based on unity and integral wholeness. For this, it […]
Bacon’s Idols of the Mind
Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626) was a successful English lawyer, politician, scientist, orator and philosopher. His works were enormously influential during a scientific revolution, in which Bacon proposed a great reformation of all process of knowledge. He popularized a scientific knowledge, often called the Baconian method, based only upon inductive and careful observation of events in […]
Strawson’s Concept of a Person
In this paper, I will lay down the main argument presented by Strawson in the third chapter “Persons” in his book Individuals. Before getting involved into the Strawson’s abstract world, I will cover some parts of the method that Strawson uses for an investigation of our thinking about how we are different from what we […]
Utilitarianism vs Deontology
In this argument I will fight with utilitarianism and will defend Kant’s Principle of morality. If we focus on the issue of rights, justice and fairness we can easily identify weaknesses of the utilitarianism compared to Kant’s principle. For instance, in the utilitarian society rights of the individual can be easily revoked because the main […]
Mill’s Utilitarianism in Questions and Answers
Explain Mill’s “principle of utility”? Why do you think Mill feels compelled to defend it in such great detail? Mill’s “principle of utility” consists in justifying actions by producing happiness and reducing its reverse. The reason why Mill defends its “principle of utility” in such great detail is that many of those who argue against […]
Locke on Time
In the Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Locke explains how we come out with ideas of duration, eternity and time. We receive ideas of duration and measures of it from reflection and sensation, two foundations of knowledge. First, we observe how our ideas are formed in our minds: some begin to appear, others vanish. So, […]
Locke on Active and Passive Power
According to Locke, power is two-fold. Active power is able to make any change, while passive power is able to be changed. For example, fire has a power to meld gold, while gold has a power to be melted. Similarly, the sun has a power to blanch wax, while wax is able to be blanched […]
Locke on Liberty
For Locke, the idea of liberty arises from the power of the mind over the actions of the man. Freedom consists in our being able to act or not act, according as we shall choose or will. Locke gives an example of a man who is carried and locked into a room while asleep. When […]
