Date of Graduation
12-2017
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Philosophy
Advisor/Mentor
Lee, Richard
Committee Member
Adler, Jacob
Second Committee Member
Williams, Rebekkah
Keywords
Ethics; Free Speech; Harm Principle; Hate Speech; John Stuart Mill; Legal Principle
Abstract
My goal in this work is to outline a specifically legal harm principle that is derived from John Stuart Mill’s harm principle in On Liberty. I will do this by providing a close reading of On Liberty and comparing it to what he says in chapter V of Utilitarianism. I believe that these two works provide a foundation for a harm principle that defines the domain and limits of the law. While this goal is not new, I focus on Mill’s general harm principle and the two maxims that he believes make it up in order to construct a relatively clear legal harm principle which becomes a part of his general principle. I believe that this may also make clearer what Mill’s view of the limitations of speech are and that he would allow that certain sorts of hate speech are not only within the domain of the law but that they could legitimately be prevented through the law.
Citation
Zawisza, K. A. (2017). Toward a Legal Harm Principle: Constructing and Applying a Legal Principle from John Stuart Mill's General Harm Principle. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2567
Included in
Applied Ethics Commons, Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, First Amendment Commons
