Major Works

• Utilitarianism (1861)

  - Mill, J. S. Utilitarianism. In The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, edited by John M. Robson. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1963–.
  Excerpt: There are few circumstances among those which make up the present condition of human knowledge, more unlike what might have been expected, or more significant of the backward state in which speculation on the most important subjects still lingers,… More

Commentary

• Ethical Studies

  - Bradley, Francis Herbert. Ethical Studies. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1876.
  F.H. Bradley presents his criticism to the utilitarianism of Mill and Sidgwick. Bradley argues for a Hegelian position that emphasizes the importance of social relations.

• The Methods of Ethics

  - Sidgwick, Henry. The Methods of Ethics. 7^th ed., London: Macmillan, 1907.
  First published in 1874 by the English philosopher Henry Sidgwick,  The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy indicates that The Methods of Ethics “in many ways marked the culmination of the classical utilitarian tradition.”  John Rawls, writing… More

• The Growth of Philosophic Radicalism

  - Halevy, Elie. The Growth of Philosophic Radicalism. Trans. M. Morris, with preface by A. D. Lindsay, London: Faber and Faber, 1934.
  This is still one of the best discussions of the 19th century Utilitarian movement in England, covering the rise of the Benthamites and the conflict between the growing economic philosophy and older philosophies that emphasized human and social values. Halevy… More

• The English Utilitarians

  - Plamenatz, John. The English Utilitarians. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1949.
  John Plamenatz provides a classic study of the English doctrine of utilitarianism. Chapters are devoted to important figures in the movement such as Hume, Bentham, James Mill, and John Stuart Mill. The treatment addresses the philosophical and psychological… More

• “John Stuart Mill” by Henry Magid

  - Magid, Henry M. “John Stuart Mill.” In History of Political Philosophy, edited by Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, 679–696. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963.
  A one-essay, comprehensive overview of Mill’s political philosophy, discussing his method, moral philosophy, philosophy of history, theories of social progress, and writings on representative government. Sections include: I. Method in Political… More

• The Improvement of Mankind

  - Robson, John M. The Improvement of Mankind. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1968.
  John M. Robson, compiler of the Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, provides an account of the unity underlying the writings of John Stuart Mill. The work shows the continuities and differences between Mill and his predecessors, the Philosophical Radicals.

• The Morality of Freedom

  - Raz, Joseph. The Morality of Freedom. Oxford: University of Oxford Press, 1983.
  From the publisher: Ranging over central issues of morals and politics and the nature of freedom and authority, this study examines the role of value-neutrality, rights, equality, and the prevention of harm in the liberal tradition, and relates them to… More

• Happiness, Justice and Freedom: The Moral and Political Philosophy of John Stuart Mill

  - Berger, Fred. Happiness, Justice and Freedom: The Moral and Political Philosophy of John Stuart Mill. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984.
  The author argues that Mill’s writing are united by a more cohesive set of doctrines than has previously been recognized. He contends that this allows Mill to provide a powerful defence of utilitarianism and political liberalism.

• John Stuart Mill and the Pursuit of Virtue

  - Semmel, Bernard. John Stuart Mill and the Pursuit of Virtue. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984.
  From the publisher: This essay provides a fresh way of understanding and linking Mill’s most characteristics opinions. The author explores Mill’s view of the relationship between the sexes and the place of necessity in history, and examines… More

• The Liberal Self: John Stuart Mill’s Moral and Political Philosophy

  - Donner, Wendy. The Liberal Self: John Stuart Mill's Moral and Political Philosophy. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991.
  From the publisher: Wendy Donner contends here that recent commentators on John Stuart Mill’s thought have focused on his notions of right and obligation and have not paid as much attention to his notion of the good. Mill, she maintains, rejects the… More

• Mill’s Deliberative Utilitarianism

  - Brink, David O. “Mill's Deliberative Utilitarianism.” In Philosophy & Public Affairs 21(1992): 67-103.
  Excerpt: Mill can be shown to reject hedonism consistently; instead, he defends (consistently) a conception of human happiness whose dominant component consists in the exercise of one’s rational capacities. This deliberative conception of happiness not… More

• The Cambridge Companion to John Stuart Mill

  - Skorupski, John, ed. The Cambridge Companion to John Stuart Mill. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
  From the publisher: “John Stuart Mill was one of the greatest thinkers of the nineteenth century. His impact on modern culture and thought has been immense, and his continuing importance for contemporary philosophy and social thought is widely… More

• The Blackwell Guide to Mill’s Utilitarianism

  - West, Henry R., ed., The Blackwell Guide to Mill's Utilitarianism, Oxford: Blackwell, 2006.
  From the publisher: Contains the complete text of Utilitarianism and twelve related essays. Essays cover the background to Mill’s classic essay, analyses of the arguments, and contemporary debates within the utilitarian tradition. Also includes a case study… More

• Starting with Mill by John Fitzpatrck

  - Fitzpatrick, John R. Starting with Mill. London: Continuum, 2010.
  This book is a general, introductory overview of Mill’s thought for beginning students of his work. From the publisher: Covering all the key concepts of Mill’s work, Starting with Mill provides an accessible introduction to the ideas of this… More

Multimedia

• Ethics: Mill 3

  - Clark, Sam, "Ethics: Mill 3," audiofile of lecture delivered at Lancashire University.
  Lecture on ethics/moral philosophy. Mill versus Brave New World: intelligence and free speech as its condition of cultivation; individuality and self-development as its condition of cultivation. The problem of justice and Mill’s response.

• Ethics: Mill 2

  - Clark, Sam, "Ethics: Mill 2," audiofile of lecture delivered at Lancashire University.
  From the website: Lecture on ethics/moral philosophy. Mill’s Utilitarianism chapters 3 and 4 as two kinds of theory of action: motivation (3) and goal/standard of correctness (4). Why Mill’s proof of utilitarianism isn’t as silly as… More

• Ethics: Mill 1

  - Clark, Sam, "Ethics: Mill 1," audiofile of lecture delivered at Lancashire University.
  From website: Lecture on ethics/moral philosophy. John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism. Orienting comparisons between Kant & Mill. Utilitarianism in general as impartial welfare consequentialism. Three accounts of the good life: hedonism,… More

• In Our Time: Mill

  - Bragg, Melvyn. "In Our Time: Mill", radio panel discussion, BBC4, 18 May, 2006.
  From website: Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the great nineteenth century political philosopher John Stuart Mill. He believed that, ‘The true philosophy is the marriage of poetry and logic’. He was one of the first thinkers to argue that a social… More

• Utilitarianism

  - Mill, J. S., Utilitarianism, LibriVox audiobook, March 9, 2008.
  LibriVox recording of Utilitarianism, by John Stuart Mill. Read by D. E. Wittkower.

• Social Structures

  - Gendler, Tamar. "Social Foundations" delivered at Yale University, Spring, 2011.
  A lecture from the Yale course PHIL180: Philosophy and the Science of Human Nature Professor Gendler begins by recapping the topic of state legitimacy and then offers a way of understanding the disagreement between Rawls and Nozick as one over what states… More