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John Stuart Mills

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Philosopher: John Stuart Mill
Background
According to John Stuart Mill, “Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative.” John Stuart Mill was a philosopher that was born in 1806 in London, England to philosopher, John Stuart.
At age 17, John Stuart Mill became a utilitarian, which means he believed in the doctrine that actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority. At this point in his life he formed the utilitarian society. At the age of 24 he started to write articles and essays in support of women’s rights. At this point in his life Mill believed that women should have rights and equality but not necessarily be independent. Mill also shared his philosophy on women’s rights with Harriet Taylor. Harriet was married but she and John still shared a close relationship, that did become a social scandal at the time. When Harriet’s husband died, she and John wed in 1849. Mill who typically favored the secret ballot in elections, changed his politically viewpoint because of his wife’s strong belief in public voting for peoples fear of shamefulness. Mill became a strong believer in proportional representation based on reading a book of Thomas Hare’s on democracy. Over the next 15 years, after his wife Harriet died, he worked closely with his stepdaughter Helen, who cared for him as well as became his secretary. He wrote many books during this time, as well as continued his political career. Even though he was considered a pretty radical candidate for the time, he was invited to have a seat on the Westminster parliament, in the 1865 general election. During his time in parliament he did add an amendment to the 1867 Reform Act that would give women the same political rights as men, if was defeated 196 votes to 73. He ended up being defeated in the next election. For the rest of his life he went on to be passionate about the particular issue of women’s sufferage and although he was in favor of universal suffrage, he was against them being lumped together. He strongly felt that women’s rights should be fought separately then other minorities. John Stuart Mill died, May 8, 1873.
Agreements
As I started to research the background of John Stuart Mill, I was actually very excited that I had the opportunity to present information on his philosophies and his passions. It was interesting to me how he was raised and taught by his father a philosopher, but ended up being able to form his own viewpoints about philosophy, politics and other topics. I was also intrigued by the relationship that he had with Harriet Taylor. It seems that he was the type of man that lead the way, not caring what others thought in a time and society that it women weren’t known as intellectuals and that idea of democracy was still in its infant stages he took a stand on both those topics and held firm. Even when society and his friends shunned him because the relationship he had with Harriet is something they deemed inappropriate. There was one interesting point in the research that clearly shows that Mill, listened and respected his wife’s opinion. Mill was a strong believer in secret ballot voting and through the persuasion and debate with his wife Mill actually saw her point of view, and understood that voting in public could have some benefits. From his writings, to the research that I did, Mill seems like a passionate, persuasive man. The kind of man that could be looked up to because he spoke his mind about how he felt on topics, without worrying what other people thought, which is a value of a true leader.
Disagreement
Although I mainly agreed with Mill viewpoint on politics, women’s rights and utilitarism. There were a few areas that I questioned during my research. First Mill agreed in women’s rights not necessarily in their independence. Although I agree that women should have equal rights, I also believe in their independence, which is something that Mill did not agree with. He also felt women’s rights should not be combined with the universal suffrage fight. While here I can see his point of view, I don’t believe that one person’s rights are more important then another groups. Although this might not be what he is saying, by him discussing the issues be kept separate, that could be left up to interpretation that he felt the women’s issues should have more or separate attention. Finally while I admire someone that is able to listen to another viewpoint, weigh the options and be persuaded to see another side of an argument, I do not necessarily agree with his decision to promote public ballots versus secret ballot. I think that everyone should have the opportunity to vote, but if they prefer to discuss how they opted to vote that should be their decision, they should not be forced to put their political viewpoints on the table to be scrutinized by others if they choose not to
References

Google Financials. (2011, March 15). Retrieved March 15, 2011, from

www.msnmoney.com: http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-

price?symbol=YHOO

Koening, E. (2011, March 13). What Is a Good Debt to Asset Ratio? Retrieved March 20,

2011, from www.ehowmoney.com: http://www.ehow.com/info_8057096_good-

debt-asset-ratio.html

Matt Murphy, M. M. (2011). Top Mobile Internet Trends. New York: KPCB.

Prithiviraj, S. (2008, February). Retrieved March 12, 2011, from The difference between

debt financing and equity financing: http://www.helium.com/items/841382-the-

difference-between-debt-and-equity-financing

Stanley B. Block, G. A. (2009). Foundations of Financial Management. New York:

McGraw-Hill Irwin.

YHOO Financial Summary. (2011, March 17). Retrieved March 17, 2011, from

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price?symbol=YHOO

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