John Stuart Mill - Philosophers in Context S.

This book presents an analysis of the philosophical thought of John Stuart Mill. Beginning with the intellectual and social environment in which Mill grew up, and the major influences of Bentham, his father and Ricardo, the authors place his work in the philosophical tradition of British empiricism. A lucid and systematic exponent of empiricism, Mill advanced this tradition in his "System of Logic" which presented a thorough philosophy of scientific method, and included a substantial theory of method in the social sciences. In works such as "Political Economy", "Utilitarianism" and "Representative Government" the implications of the theoretical stance of empiricism were expounded for social science and social philosophy. In such works as "On Liberty" and "The Subjection of Women", important moral and social questions were addressed within empiricist framework. The authors aim to demonstrate that the organic unity of Mill's thought, from logic through to questions of moral, political and social phenomena, has much to teach about the philosophical foundations of social enquiry. The book should be of interest to scholars of philosophy, particularly in a social context.