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Ideas of John Stuart Mill, by Text

[British, 1806 - 1873, Son of James Mill (close friend of Bentham). Member of Parliament in later life.]

1843 System of Logic
p.4 12411 Mill is too imprecise, and is restricted to simple arithmetic [Kitcher]
p.9 8625 What physical facts could underlie 0 or 1, or very large numbers? [Frege]
p.26 4944 Mill says names have denotation but not connotation [Kripke]
p.35 10391 Causes and conditions are not distinct, because we select capriciously from among them
p.37 7762 Proper names are just labels for persons or objects, and the meaning is the object [Lycan]
p.99 5201 Mill says logic and maths is induction based on a very large number of instances [Ayer]
p.112 17086 Surprisingly, empiricists before Mill ignore explanation, which seems to transcend experience [Ruben]
p.150 8345 A cause is the total of all the conditions which inevitably produce the result
p.201 17091 Explanation is fitting of facts into ever more general patterns of regularity [Ruben]
p.244 5656 Empirical theories of arithmetic ignore zero, limit our maths, and need probability to get started [Frege]
p.367 9360 If two black and two white objects in practice produced five, what colour is the fifth one? [Lewis,CI]
1.04.3 p.90 17895 Combining two distinct assertions does not necessarily lead to a single 'complex proposition'
1.6.2 p.123 11156 The essence is that without which a thing can neither be, nor be conceived to be
2.6 p.258 9888 Mill mistakes particular applications as integral to arithmetic, instead of general patterns [Dummett]
2.6.2 p.293 9796 Things possess the properties of numbers, as quantity, and as countable parts
2.6.2 p.293 9795 Numbers have generalised application to entities (such as bodies or sounds)
2.6.2 p.293 9794 There are no such things as numbers in the abstract
2.6.2 p.295 9798 Different parcels made from three pebbles produce different actual sensations
2.6.2 p.295 9797 '2 pebbles and 1 pebble' and '3 pebbles' name the same aggregation, but different facts
2.6.2 p.296 9799 3=2+1 presupposes collections of objects ('Threes'), which may be divided thus
2.6.3 p.297 9801 Numbers must be assumed to have identical units, as horses are equalised in 'horse-power'
2.6.3 p.297 9800 Arithmetic is based on definitions, and Sums of equals are equal, and Differences of equals are equal
3.05.2 p.132 16845 The whole theory of induction rests on causes
3.05.3 p.383 14547 The strict cause is the total positive and negative conditions which ensure the consequent
3.05.6 p.392 14545 A cause is an antecedent which invariably and unconditionally leads to a phenomenon
3.06.6 p.392 12190 Necessity is what will be, despite any alternative suppositions whatever
3.07 p.18 16805 Causal inference is by spotting either Agreements or Differences [Lipton]
3.07/8 p.99 16835 The Methods of Difference and of Agreement are forms of inference to the best explanation [Lipton]
3.14.4-5 p.126 16843 Mill's methods (Difference,Agreement,Residues,Concomitance,Hypothesis) don't nail induction [Lipton]
3.24.5 p.150 9803 We can't easily distinguish 102 horses from 103, but we could arrange them to make it obvious
3.24.5 p.150 9802 Numbers denote physical properties of physical phenomena
3.24.5 p.151 9804 Arithmetical results give a mode of formation of a given number
3.24.5 p.152 9805 12 is the cube of 1728 means pebbles can be aggregated a certain way
3.24.5 p.153 9806 Whatever is made up of parts is made up of parts of those parts
3.4.1 p.366 9417 What are the fewest propositions from which all natural uniformities could be inferred?
3.5.2 p.178 8377 Causation is just invariability of succession between every natural fact and a preceding fact
4.1.2 p.204 16859 Most perception is one-tenth observation and nine-tenths inference
4.1.2 p.204 16860 Inductive generalisation is more reliable than one of its instances; they can't all be wrong
4.2.1 p.195 9078 The study of the nature of Abstract Ideas does not belong to logic, but to a different science
4.2.1 p.196 9079 We can focus our minds on what is common to a whole class, neglecting other aspects
4.2.1 p.196 9080 General conceptions are a necessary preliminary to Induction
4.2.2 p.196 9081 We don't recognise comparisons by something in our minds; the concepts result from the comparisons
4.2.5 p.206 9082 Clear concepts result from good observation, extensive experience, and accurate memory
Ch.4 p.55 9624 Numbers are a very general property of objects [Brown,JR]
p.217 p.60 4773 Mill's regularity theory of causation is based on an effect preceded by a conjunction of causes [Psillos]
p.245? p.95 8741 Numbers must be of something; they don't exist as abstractions
p.255 p.63 4775 In Mill's 'Method of Agreement' cause is the common factor in a range of different cases [Psillos]
p.256 p.64 4776 In Mill's 'Method of Difference' the cause is what stops the effect when it is removed [Psillos]
p.32 p.399 10427 All names are names of something, real or imaginary
p.339 [1974 ed] p.89 22623 Necessity can only mean what must be, without conditions of any kind
p.610? p.95 8742 The only axioms needed are for equality, addition, and successive numbers [Shapiro]
1857 On Liberty
p.119 20515 Maximise happiness by an area of strict privacy, and an area of utilitarian interventions [Wolff,J]
p.124 20516 Mill defends freedom as increasing happiness, but maybe it is an intrinsic good [Wolff,J]
p.125 20517 Utilitarianism values liberty, but guides us on which ones we should have or not have [Wolff,J]
Ch.1 p.129 7210 The will of the people is that of the largest or most active part of the people
Ch.1 p.135 7212 Individuals have sovereignty over their own bodies and minds
Ch.1 p.135 7211 Prevention of harm to others is the only justification for exercising power over people
Ch.1 p.136 7214 Ethics rests on utility, which is the permanent progressive interests of people
Ch.1 p.136 7213 Liberty arises at the point where people can freely and equally discuss things
Ch.1 p.138 7215 True freedom is pursuing our own good, while not impeding others
Ch.2 p.176 7216 The ethics of the Gospel has been supplemented by barbarous Old Testament values
Ch.4 p.214 7217 The main argument for freedom is that interference with it is usually misguided
Ch.5 p.225 7220 Restraint for its own sake is an evil
Ch.5 p.226 7219 Society can punish actions which it believes to be prejudicial to others
Ch.5 p.226 7218 Individuals are not accountable for actions which only concern themselves
Ch.5 p.229 7221 Blocking entry to an unsafe bridge does not infringe liberty, since no one wants unsafe bridges
Ch.5 p.230 7222 It is a crime for someone with a violent disposition to get drunk
Ch.5 p.232 7223 Pimping and running a gambling-house are on the border between toleration and restraint
Ch.5 p.239 7224 We need individual opinions and conduct, and State education is a means to prevent that
Ch.5 p.242 7225 It is a crime to create a being who lacks the ordinary chances of a desirable existence
Ch.5 p.243 7226 Benefits performed by individuals, not by government, help also to educate them
Ch.5 p.243 7228 Individuals often do things better than governments
Ch.5 p.244 7227 It is evil to give a government any more power than is necessary
Ch.5 p.246 7229 People who transact their own business will also have the initiative to control their government
Ch.5 p.248 7230 Aim for the maximum dissemination of power consistent with efficiency
Ch.5 p.249 7231 The worth of a State, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it
1861 Representative Government
p.97 20508 How people vote should be on public record, so they can be held accountable [Wolff,J]
p.217-8 p.93 20504 People can only participate in decisions in small communities, so representatives are needed
p.232 p.95 20505 Direct democracy is inexperience judging experience, and ignorance judging knowledge
p.299 p.97 20507 Voting is a strict duty, like jury service, and must only be aimed at the public good
1861 Utilitarianism
p.136 6697 Moral rules protecting human welfare are more vital than local maxims
p.230 7202 The English believe in the task of annihilating evil for the victory of good [Nietzsche]
Ch.1 p.255 3763 Ultimate goods such as pleasure can never be proved to be good
Ch.2 p.145 5935 Mill's qualities of pleasure is an admission that there are other good states of mind than pleasure [Ross]
Ch.2 p.257 3764 Actions are right if they promote pleasure, wrong if they promote pain
Ch.2 p.257 3765 Only pleasure and freedom from pain are desirable as ends
Ch.2 p.260 3766 Better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied
Ch.2 p.270 3767 Motive shows the worth of the agent, but not of the action
Ch.3 p.279 3768 Orthodox morality is the only one which feels obligatory
Ch.3 p.284 3769 With early training, any absurdity or evil may be given the power of conscience
Ch.4 p.288 3770 General happiness is only desirable because individuals desire their own happiness
Ch.4 p.289 3771 Virtues only have value because they achieve some further end
Ch.4 p.294 3772 The will, in the beginning, is entirely produced by desire
Ch.5 p.305 3773 No individual has the right to receive our benevolence
Ch.5 p.306 3774 Rights are a matter of justice, not of benevolence
Ch.5 p.309 3775 A right is a valid claim to society's protection
Ch.5 p.319 3776 Utilitarianism only works if everybody has a totally equal right to happiness
1865 Examination of Sir Wm Hamilton's Philosophy
p.107 3583 External objects are permanent possibilities of sensation
p.243 p.215 3537 I judge others' feeling by analogy with my body and behaviour
1870 Autobiography
p.43 7076 Mill wondered if he would be happy if all his aims were realised, and answered no [Critchley]
1874 Nature and Utility of Religion
p.119 21335 Belief that an afterlife is required for justice is an admission that this life is very unjust
p.115 p.115 21329 Nature dispenses cruelty with no concern for either mercy or justice
p.115 p.115 21328 Killing is a human crime, but nature kills everyone, and often with great tortures
p.116 p.116 21330 Nature makes childbirth a miserable experience, often leading to the death of the mother
p.116 p.116 21331 Hurricanes, locusts, floods and blight can starve a million people to death
p.116 p.116 21332 We don't get a love of 'order' from nature - which is thoroughly chaotic
p.117 p.117 21333 Evil comes from good just as often as good comes from evil
p.119 p.119 21334 No necessity ties an omnipotent Creator, so he evidently wills human misery