Mill’s Harm Principle
▪ Approx. 3 pages, double-spaced,
▪ Include a brief intro and conclusion,
▪ Include at least one quote from the Wolff text,
▪ Insert page numbers into document,
I) Using the Wolff text, state and give a brief explanation of Mill’s Harm Principle, AKA the
Liberty Principle. (In your explanation you should say something to motivate the principle:
What is Mill trying to accomplish in issuing the principle?)
II) Explain why Mill thinks that liberty is valuable for moral progress (see Wolff p. 121-124) and
provide at least one specific example to illustrate this claim—feel free to construct your own!
III) Though Mill argues against censorship, he thinks there are limits to freedom of expression.
Give your own modern-day example of a case of ‘freedom of expression’ that Mill would
*want* to prohibit/censor.
IV) Finally, describe an objection to Mill’s liberalism (you can use one that Wolff describes or
come up with your own). How do you think Mill would reply to the objection? Ultimately, do
you think this reply is successful, or is Mill’s view vulnerable to the objection?
