Essay about Mill vs Dostoevsky - 1064 Words

â€Å"For what is freedom? That one has the will to assume responsibility for oneself.† (Nietzsche. Twilight of the Idols. Trans. Hollingdale. Sect. 38). Everyone desires freedom but everyone cannot handle the responsibilities of freedom. I will compare J.S. Mill’s views on the social function of freedom with that of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s characters from both, the novel Notes From Underground and the excerpt; The Grand Inquisitor, also drawing supplementary arguments from Friedrich Nietzsche, while expressing my views alongside. Mill’s core assumption of man is that he is a rational being who will strive to maximize his own utility. â€Å"I regard utility as the ultimate appeal†¦ on the permanent interests of man as a progressive being.† (Mill. On†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å" Come, try, give anyone of us, for instance, a little more independence, untie our hands, widen the spheres of our activities, relax the controls and we- yes, I assure you- we would immediately beg to be under control again.† (Dostoevsky. Notes From Underground. Trans. Matlaw. 121). â€Å"Man was created a rebel; and how can rebels be happy?†(Dostoevsky. The Grand Inquisitor. Trans. Matlaw. 131). Nietzsche elaborates on this point by affirming the idea that we are made up of two instinctual drives: the Dionysian, which causes us to be passionate, impulsive and unrestrained, and the Apollonian which makes us disciplined, restrained and controlled beings. Mill and other utilitarian’s like Jeremy Bentham denies the former. I embrace this idea that most of us are creatures of chaos, who are born wild and need to be tamed by the structures of society. What type of society would we live in if people did not believe in sins, or heaven and hell? Although we would like to deny it, the reality is that the greater majority of the human race is not capable of living without paternalistic laws, and moral limitations that stem from religious doctrines. J.S. Mill would strongly disagree with this statement: â€Å" That the only purpose for which power can be rig htfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.†Show MoreRelatedExistentialism vs Essentialism23287 Words   |  94 Pages------------------------------------------------- Essentialism vs. Existentialism Essentialism: A belief that things have a set of characteristics that make them what they are, amp; that the task of science and philosophy is their discovery amp; expression; the doctrine that essence is prior to existence While, Existentialism:A philosophical theory or approach, that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free amp; responsible