http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/john-stuart-mill Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Sun, 24 May 2026 01:14:32 -0400 Sun, 24 May 2026 01:14:32 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1628/the-fundamental-illegitimacy-of-facism-and-the-innate-desire-for-freedom By Rocco A. Astore - This piece examines the ideologies and tactics used by fascist governments to validate and enforce their authority through Michael Mann’s work Fascists. By explicating Kant’s view of autonomy and progress, found in “An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?” and Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, it is demonstrated that people are fundamentally progressive beings with innate capacities for freedom. Moreover, explaining J.S. Mill’s view of the innate progressiveness and value of individuality in On Liberty, it is asserted that fascist demands of obedience... Thu, 27 Apr 2017 10:24 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1628/the-fundamental-illegitimacy-of-facism-and-the-innate-desire-for-freedom http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1338/comparing-the-political-theories-of-lao-tzu-and-machiavelli-arguments-in-favor-of-political-rights-and-fair-leadership By Rocco A. Astore - Within Lao Tzu’s Tao-Teh-Ching and Machiavelli’s The Prince, there are similar notions concerning how a ruler should maintain order and how he/she can be an effective leader. According to the former, it is best if people are blind to the operations of the state, so that they may always be in awe of their sovereign, much like the latter’s reasons to conclude that it is safer for a prince to be feared instead of loved.[1] With this essay, I explore how Lao Tzu’s and Machiavelli’s political theories are alike, by explicating their ideas concerning the ways in which a... Mon, 25 Jan 2016 10:40 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1338/comparing-the-political-theories-of-lao-tzu-and-machiavelli-arguments-in-favor-of-political-rights-and-fair-leadership http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1310/john-stuart-mills-solution-to-the-problem-of-socrates-in-the-autobiography By N L. N - Ever since its posthumous publication, John Stuart Mill’s Autobiography has elicited reactions of primarily disappointment and confusion. Thomas Carlyle famously deemed the book the “autobiography of a steam-engine” (quoted in Levi 295) and readers since have generally agreed with his verdict. Leslie Stephen and Harold Laski argue that Mill’s Autobiography is “severely deficient,” (Levi 284) on account of its mechanical and emotionally sterile prose and its complete lack of details about any aspects of Mill’s life which are not obviously relevant to his... Mon, 16 Nov 2015 08:02 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1310/john-stuart-mills-solution-to-the-problem-of-socrates-in-the-autobiography http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1183/kant-and-mill-on-physician-assisted-suicide By Anna Kozlova - In Diane’s case, this maxim would be that, “If I suffer in indignity, I should end my own life.” If that were to be adopted, nobody on this earth would remain alive due to the every-day struggles we all face. This is a particularly strong maxim to disobey, as it is considered a perfect duty to oneself, due to the fact that it is without exception, and not influenced by personal inclinations, as imperfect duties may be (Kant, 1964, p. 29). Additionally, Kant has countered the case for suicide by disagreeing that the act of killing oneself can come from self-love. As Kant explains... Tue, 29 Sep 2015 11:02 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1183/kant-and-mill-on-physician-assisted-suicide http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/782/on-freedom-and-progress-comparing-marx-and-mill By Frank Wang - This essay compares Karl Marx’s and J.S. Mill’s understandings of freedom and their analyses of the impediments to its realization. First, this essay argues that the two philosophers share the same premise that progress is possible and that mankind has the capacity to drive it. Second, this essay argues that while their conceptions of freedom differ, both see freedom as an end in itself. Then, the essay argues that while their views on what is necessary for progress differ, they share an understanding of human nature’s basic tendancy for self-cultivation. What distinguishes them... Mon, 04 Nov 2013 08:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/782/on-freedom-and-progress-comparing-marx-and-mill http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/766/technology-and-justice-the-philosophy-of-authenticity-and-democratic-theory By Matthew McManus - My aim in this work is to sketch, in broad strokes, an idea for a method of both assessing these dynamics and, ultimately, moving beyond them to provide a philosophic foundation for those moral notions I will suggest are attractive. By necessity, this has meant starting primarily with an analysis and critique of modernity and its normative content. While this is hardly a novel idea, I have attempted to contribute originally to the discourse of modernity, as Habermas characterizes it, by suggesting how a reconceptualization of temporality, and a reexamination of time's connection to language, would... Wed, 02 Oct 2013 11:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/766/technology-and-justice-the-philosophy-of-authenticity-and-democratic-theory