The individual and the social order in Mill and Hegel : seeking common principles in liberal and communitarian ancestry
- Authors: Koseff, Justin Adam
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, 1770-1831 , Mill, John Stuart, 1806-1873 , Liberalism , Communitarianism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2843 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005624 , Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, 1770-1831 , Mill, John Stuart, 1806-1873 , Liberalism , Communitarianism
- Description: This thesis seeks to establish a significant commonality and compatibility between the principles underpinning the political and social philosophies of GWF Hegel and John Stuart Mill. The role of the individual and the social order in both their theories is discussed and assessed separately and in turn in reference to their respective seminal works on the proper structure, principles and function of modern political infrastructure. Through an interpretation of the fundamental tenets and goals of their theories of the social order I argue for a coherent modern reconstruction of their doctrines, within which I locate parallels and contrasts as they apply. Both theorists as ultimately put forward similar arguments for freedom as an intersubjectively·developed capacity, the ideal social order as rational framework for the management of ethical and political engagement, linked to a social holism that ties individual and social progress inextricably. A respect for individual particularity of perspective and practice is integral both of their social frameworks, but that such a space must be harmonised within a rational political community worthy of individual obligation. Finally their social and political theories can be understood as complementary, each providing insights which the other lacks. Mill suffers from an insufficient regard for the social basis of identity and interconnected nature of the modern institutional framework, while Hegel displays an insufficient regard for Mill's caveats concerning the repressive potential of institutional structures and the dangers of overly empowered bureaucracies. In conclusion key elements of the two theorists' projects stand as separate but not in any way fundamentally opposed to each other. This points to the possibility of a via media between a politics of individualism and a politics of community, suggesting strong potential for reconciliation between liberal and communitarian perspectives.
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- Date Issued: 2003
Freedom in the thought of John Locke and John Stuart Mill
- Authors: Omer-Cooper, John David
- Date: 1958
- Subjects: Locke, John, 1632-1704 , Mill, John Stuart, 1806-1873 , Liberty , Ethics , Free thought , Autonomy (Psychology)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2746 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012989
- Description: Recent history has abundantly justified J. S. Mlll's theory that the power of soclety over the indivldual is llkely to increase without limlt If lt was not prevented. One of the most obvlous phenomena of our times has been the rise of the so-called totalltarlan systems of government; states that treat the lndlvldual as a being wlth no other end but the servlce of the state and which are prepared to use the advanced technlques which modern scientific research has made available to them to mould the individual as the perfect tool of the system.
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- Date Issued: 1958