Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

Two. On the Liberty of Thought and Discussion

CHAPTER TWO ON THE LIBERTY OF THOUGHT AND DISCUSSION Though, as I pointed out in my last chapter, Mr. Mill rather asserts than proves his doctrines about liberty, the second chapter of his essay on the Liberty of Thought and Discussion, and the third chapter on Individuality as one of the Elements of Well-being-may be regarded as arguments to prove certain parts or applications of the general principle asserted in his Introduction; and as such I will consider them. I object rather to Mr. Mill's theory than to his practical conclusions. I hope to show hereafter how far the practical difference between us extends. The objection which I make to most of his statements on the subject is that in order to justify in practice what might be justified on narrow and special grounds, he lays down a theory incorrect in itself and tending to confirm views which might become practically mischievous. The result of his chapter on Liberty of Thought and Discussion is summed up, with characteristic point and brevity, by himself in the following words: We have now recognized the necessity to the mental well-being of mankind (on which all their other well-being depends) of freedom of opinion and freedom of the expression of opinion on four distinct grounds. First, if any opinion is compelled to silence, that opinion may, for aught we can certainly know, be true. To deny this is to assume our own infallibility . Secondly, though the silenced opinion be an error, it may, and very commonly does, contain a portion of truth; and since the general or pre- Liberty_001-050.indd 25 8/28/08 1:31:19 PM ON THE LIBERTY OF THOUGHT AND DISCUSSION vailing opinion is rarely or never the whole truth, it is only by the collision of adverse opinions that the remainder of the truth has any chance of being supplied. Thirdly, even if the received opinion be not only true, but the whole truth, unless it is suffered to be and actually is vigorously and earnestly contested, it will by most of those who receive it be held in the manner of a prejudice, with little comprehension or feeling of its rational grounds. Fourthly,! the meaning of the doctrine itself will be in danger of being lost or enfeebled and deprived of its vital effect on the character and conduct ; the dogma becoming a mere formal profession inefficacious for good, but cumbering the ground, and preventing the growth of any real and heartfelt conviction from reason or personal experience. [53-54/ 257-58 L] The chapter in question is, I think, one of the most eloquent to be found in its author's writings, and it contains, as is not unfrequently the case with him, illustrations which are even more valuable for what they suggest than for what they say. These illustrations are no doubt the part of this chapter which made the deepest impression when it was first published, and which have been most vividly remembered by its readers. I think that for the sake of them most readers forget the logical framework in which they were set, and read the chapter as a plea for greater freedom of discussion on moral and theological subjects. If Mr. Mill had limited himself to the proposition that in our own time and country it is highly important that the great questions of morals and theology should be discussed openly and with complete freedom from all legal restraints , I should agree with him. But the impression which the whole chapter leaves upon me is that for the sake of establishing this limited practical consequence , Mr. Mill has stated a theory which is very far indeed from the truth, and which, if generally accepted, might hereafter become a serious embarrassment to rational legislation. His first reason in favour of unlimited freedom of opinion on all subjects is this: 'If any opinion is compelled to silence, that opinion may, for aught we can certainly tell, be true. To deny this is to assume our own infallibility.' [531258 L] 1. In On Liberty, this paragraph actually begins with: "And not only this, but, fourthly, ..." 25 Liberty_001-050.indd 26 8/28/08 1:31:22 PM LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY He states fairly and fully the obvious objection to this-that 'there is no greater assumption of infallibility in forbidding the propagation of error, than in any...