Interp & Argument
Society and the Individual
Feb. 10th
Bradley Sherburne
Argument Analysis
In John Stuart Mill’s essay “On Liberty”, he discusses the importance of a balance
between the bounds of a society and the bounds of an individual. I plan to discuss the
three main points of his argument: The right of an individual to have his or her own
opinion and to share their opinion freely, the right of an individual to do as he or she
pleases as long as doing so does not harm others, and the right of people to unite in
groups. Without the principals outlined by Mill’s contestations society would fall under
the rule of tyranny, not necessarily on person’s tyranny, but perhaps the “tyranny of the
majority”.
Mill’s first point, the right of an individual to have his or her opinions and to
make those opinions very clear is one of the key’s of Mill’s ideology.