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• On Liberty
  On Liberty

  noun

  a treatise (1859) by John Stuart Mill on the rights of the individual within the state.
• “On Liberty”
  “On Liberty”

  (1859) An essay by John Stuart Mill in defense of the liberal idea of political freedom. Mill takes a firm position that the state may interfere with the freedom of individuals only to protect other individuals; the person's “own good” is not a sufficient reason.

On Liberty

American  

noun

1. a treatise (1859) by John Stuart Mill on the rights of the individual within the state.

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“On Liberty” Cultural  

1. (1859) An essay by John Stuart Mill in defense of the liberal idea of political freedom. Mill takes a firm position that the state may interfere with the freedom of individuals only to protect other individuals; the person's “own good” is not a sufficient reason.

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Example Sentences

On Liberty, his classic treatise published in 1859, emphasized the importance of toleration and stressed that multiple ethical codes could coexist peacefully in a given society.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

In his philosophical treatise "On Liberty," Mill notes that action cannot be as free as speech.

From Salon • Jan. 18, 2021

Mill, also an MP and economist, is best known for his essay, On Liberty.

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2018

“The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others,” he wrote in On Liberty.

From Economist • Oct. 12, 2017

Mill's book "On Liberty" denies the ethical significance of self-development and forgets the individual's oneness with his kind, in declaring personal vices of no importance to the general welfare.

From A Review of the Systems of Ethics Founded on the Theory of Evolution by Williams, C. M.