Mill

In Our Time: Philosophy

BBC

History

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2006

⏱️ 42 minutes

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Summary

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 theory must engage with ideas of culture and the internal life. He used Wordsworth to inform his social theory, he was a proto feminist and his treatise On Liberty is one of the sacred texts of liberalism. J S Mill believed that action was the natural articulation of thought. He battled throughout his life for social reform and individual freedom and was hugely influential in the extension of the vote. Few modern discussions on race, birth control, the state and human rights have not been influenced by Mill's theories. How did Mill's utilitarian background shape his political ideas? Why did he think Romantic literature was significant to the rational structure of society? On what grounds did he argue for women's equality? And how did his notions of the individual become central to modern social theory? With A C Grayling, Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London; Janet Radcliffe Richards, Reader in Bioethics at University College London; Alan Ryan, Professor of Politics at Oxford University.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thanks for down learning the In Our Time podcast. For more details about In Our Time and for our terms of use, please go to BBC.co.uk.
0:09.0	I hope you enjoy the program.
0:11.0	Hello, the 19th century philosopher John Stuart Mill believed that quote the true philosophy
0:15.8	is a marriage of poetry and logic, unquote.
0:18.9	He was one of the first thinkers to argue that a social theory must engage with the ideas of culture and the internal life.
0:25.0	He used Wordsworth to inform his social theory.
0:28.0	He was a proto-feminist and his treaties on liberty is one of the sacred texts of liberalism.
0:34.0	J.S. Mill believed that action was the natural articulation of thought.
0:38.0	He battled throughout his life for social reform and individual freedom and was hugely influential in the extension of the vote.
0:44.6	Few modern discussions on race, birth control, the state and human rights have not been influenced
0:49.7	by Mills theories.
0:51.7	How did Mills' utilitarian background shape his political ideas? Why did
0:55.9	he think romantic literature was significant to the rational structure of society? On what
1:00.5	grounds did he argue for women's equality and how did his notions of the
1:04.3	individual become so central to modern social theory. With me to discuss J.S.
1:09.5	Mel, A.C. Grelling, Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck University of London.
1:14.0	Janet Richard, Reader in Bioethics at University College London, and Alan Ryan, Professor of
1:19.4	Politics at Oxford University.
1:21.6	Anthony Grelling, can you just give us an idea of
1:24.4	mil significance as a philosophical and political thinker, an outline?
1:28.8	Well he's certainly the major British philosopher of the 19th century I think and the impact that he's
1:35.8	had on subsequent debate in all the different fields that you just mentioned
	...

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