Quotes from John Stuart Mill

And what is a still greater novelty, the mass do not now take their opinions from dignitaries in Church or State, from ostensible leaders, or from books. Their thinking is done for them by men much like themselves, addressing them or speaking in their name, on the spur of the moment, through the newspapers.

Now we may be well assured that the case was not thus, but far otherwise, with the early Christians. Had it been thus, Christianity never would have expanded from an obscure sect of the despised Hebrews into the religion of the Roman empire. When their enemies said, "See how these Christians love one another" (a remark not likely to be made by anybody now), they assuredly had a much livelier feeling of the meaning of their creed than they have ever had since.

the object [which] ought to be principally aimed at ... is not the subversion of the system of individual property, but the improvement of it, and the full participation of every member of the community in its benefits

and to extinguish all books, all schools, all combinations of individuals for joint action upon society, which may be attempted for the purpose of keeping alive a spirit at variance with its own. Is it, we say, the proper condition of man, in all ages and nations, to be under the despotism of Public Opinion?

One can, to an almost laughable degree, infer what a man's wife is like from his opinions about women in general.

La condición estacionaria del capital y de la población no implica un estado estacionario del mejoramiento humano. Habría muchas oportunidades para todo tipo de mentalidades culturales, para el progreso moral, social, para perfeccionar el arte de vivir si las mentes dejasen de centrarse en el arte de medrar" Principios de Economía Política

Only through diversity of opinion is there, in the existing state of the human intellect, a chance of fair play to all sides of the truth.

Todo partidario de castigar la emisión de opiniones, a menos que se crea un hombre más prudente y mejor que Marco Aurelio, más versado que él en la sabiduría de su tiempo, de mayor elevación intelectual, más ardiente en la investigación de la verdad o más devotamente consagrado a ella una vez hallada, debe abstenerse de declarar su propia infalibilidad con la de la multitud, como lo hizo con tan desdichado resultado el gran Antonino.

this benefit from the Montesquieu of our own times, M. de Tocqueville.

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.

The present wretched education and wretched social arrangements are the only real hindrance to its being attainable by almost all.

What is boasted of at the present time as the revival of religion, is always, in narrow and uncultivated minds, at least as much the revival of bigotry; and where there is the strong permanent leaven of intolerance in the feelings of a people, which at all times abides in the middle classes of this country, it needs but little to provoke them into actively persecuting those whom they have never ceased to think proper objects of persecution.

Ä°nsan hatalar?n? tart??ma ve deneyim yoluyla düzeltebilir. Yaln?zca deneyimle deÄŸil. Tart??ma da olmak zorundad?r ki deneyimin nas?l yorumlanaca?? gösterilebilsin.

Eccentricity has always abounded when and where strength of character has abounded; and the amount of eccentricity in a society has been proportional to the amount of genius, mental vigor, and moral courage it contained.

Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest.

There is a limit to the legitimate interference of collective opinion with individual independence; and to find that limit, and maintain it against encroachment, is as indispensable to a good condition of human affairs, as protection against political despotism.

It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied.

The only freedom which deserves the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental and spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest.

The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.

there does in fact prevail a much greater unanimity among thinking persons, than might be supposed from their diametrical divergence on the great questions of moral metaphysics

It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig is of a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question.

That principle is, that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.

The beliefs which we have most warrant for, have no safeguard to rest on, but a standing invitation to the whole world to prove them unfounded. If the challenge is not accepted, or is accepted and the attempt fails, we are far enough from certainty still; but we have done the best that the existing state of human reason admits of; we have neglected nothing that could give the truth a chance of reaching us:

S'il y a des gens pour contester une opinion reçue ou pour désirer le faire si la loi ou l'opinion publique le leur permet, il faut les en remercier, ouvrir nos esprits à leurs paroles et nous réjouir qu'il y en ait qui fassent pour nous ce que nous devrions prendre davantage la peine de faire, si tant est que la certitude ou la vitalité de nos convictions nous importe.