Nature of man Quotes by John Stuart Mill

24 Nature of man quotes by John Stuart Mill

All Nature of man quotes John Stuart Mill’s page

Mill balances individual freedom with the common good, offering a nuanced portrait of humanity. In these twenty‑four excerpts, his arguments feel as relevant now as they were in his time.

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All the good of which humanity is capable is comprised in obedience.

John Stuart Mill

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The perpetual obstacle to human advancement is custom.

John Stuart Mill

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Whatever helps to shape the human being - to make the individual what he is, or hinder him from being what he…

John Stuart Mill

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“The best state for human nature is that in which, while no one is poor, no one desires to be richer, nor…

John Stuart Mill

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No great improvements in the lot of mankind are possible until a great change takes place in the fundamental constitution of their…

John Stuart Mill

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

John Stuart Mill

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If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he,…

John Stuart Mill

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The general tendency of things throughout the world is to render mediocrity the ascendant power among mankind.

John Stuart Mill

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It is useful that while mankind are imperfect there should be different opinions, so is it that there should be different experiments…

John Stuart Mill

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The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we…

John Stuart Mill

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It's hardly possible to overstate the value, in the present state of human improvement, of placing human beings in contact with other…

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“It is an adherent condition of human affairs that no intention, however sincere, of protecting the interests of others can make it…

John Stuart Mill

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“Human nature is not a machine to be built after a model, and set to do exactly the work prescribed for it,…

John Stuart Mill

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Hardly any original thoughts on mental or social subjects ever make their way among mankind or assume their proper importance in the…

John Stuart Mill

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“Where there is a tacit convention that principles are not to be disputed; where the discussion of the greatest questions which can…

John Stuart Mill

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“If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no…

John Stuart Mill

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“THE subject of this Essay is not the so-called Liberty of the Will, so unfortunately opposed to the misnamed doctrine of Philosophical…

John Stuart Mill

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“The form of association, however, which if mankind continue to improve, must be expected in the end to predominate, is not that…

John Stuart Mill

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The majority, being satisfied with the ways of mankind as they now are (for it is they who make them what they…

John Stuart Mill

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The prevailing tendency to regard all the marked distinctions of human character as innate, and in the main indelible, and to ignore…

John Stuart Mill

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“Apart from the peculiar tenets of individual thinkers, there is also in the world at large an increasing inclination to stretch unduly…

John Stuart Mill

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It is useful while mankind is imperfect that there should be different opinions, so that there should be different experiments of living,…

John Stuart Mill

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Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness; on the happiness of others,…

John Stuart Mill

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“Of all difficulties which impede the progress of thought, and the formation of well-grounded opinions on life and social arrangements, the greatest…

John Stuart Mill

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More by John Stuart Mill

The average condition of the people improving or deteriorating, depends upon whether population is advancing faster than improvement, or improvement than population.

John Stuart Mill

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Liberty lies in the rights of that person whose views you find most odious.

John Stuart Mill

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Truth emerges from the clash of adverse ideas.

John Stuart Mill

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“No longer enslaved or made dependent by force of law, the great majority are so by force of poverty; they are still chained to…

John Stuart Mill

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All acts suppose certain dispositions, and habits of mind and heart, which may be in themselves states of enjoyment or of wretchedness, and which…

John Stuart Mill

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Unfortunately for the good sense of mankind, the fact of their fallibility is far from carrying the weight in their practical judgement, which is…

John Stuart Mill

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“In history, as in traveling, men usually see only what they already had in their own minds; and few learn much from history, who…

John Stuart Mill

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All errors which a man is likely to commit against advice are far outweighed by the evil of allowing others to constrain him for…

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Every great movement must experience three stages: ridicule, discussion, adoption.

John Stuart Mill

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The successful conduct of an industrial enterprise requires two quite distinct qualifications: fidelity and zeal.

John Stuart Mill

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“[For people] to refuse a hearing to an opinion, because they are sure that it is false, is to assume that their certainty is…

John Stuart Mill

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This is what writers mean when they say that the notion of cause involves the idea of necessity. If there be any meaning which…

John Stuart Mill

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“Protection, therefore, against tyranny of the magistrate is not enough: there needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling; against…

John Stuart Mill

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Landlords grow rich in their sleep without working, risking or economizing. The increase in the value of land, arising as it does from the…

John Stuart Mill

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There is one characteristic of the present direction of public opinion, peculiarly calculated to make it intolerant of any marked demonstration of individuality. The…

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