John Stuart Mill, FRSE (20 May 1806 – 8 May 1873) was a British philosopher, political economist and civil servant. He was an influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy. He has been called "the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century".
A System of Logic
Read by Chris Greaves
Running Time:51:22:14 in 3 MP3 Audio CDs
Genre(s): Non-fiction, Modern
"In this work, he formulated the five principles of inductive reasoning that are known as Mill's Methods. This work is important in the philosophy of science, and more generally, insofar as it outlines the empirical principles Mill would use to justify his moral and political philosophies.
An article in "Philosophy of Recent Times" has described this book as an "attempt to expound a psychological system of logic within empiricist principles.”
This work was important to the history of science, being a strong influence on scientists such as Dirac.A System of Logic also had an impression on Gottlob Frege, who rebuked many of Mill's ideas about the philosophy of mathematics in his work The Foundations of Arithmetic.
Mill revised the original work several times over the course of thirty years in response to critiques and commentary by Whewell, Bain, and others."
Auguste Comte and Positivism
Read by Bill Boerst
Running Time:5:47:12 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Non-fiction, Biography & Autobiography, History
Part 1 lays out the framework for Positivism as originated in France by Auguste Comte in his Cours de Philosophie Positive. Mill examines the tenets of Comte's movement and alerts us to defects. Part 2 concerns all Comte's writings except the Cours de Philosophie Positive. During Comte's later years he gave up reading newspapers and periodicals to keep his mind pure for higher study. He also became enamored of a certain woman who changed his view of life. Comte turned his philosophy into a religion, with morality the supreme guide. Mill finds that Comte learned to despise science and the intellect, instead substituting his frantic need for the regulation of change.
Autobiography
Read by Gary Gilberd, Vickie Ranz and Tony Richardson.
Running Time:9:21:11 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Biography & Autobiography
John Stuart Mill, British philosopher, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential liberal thinker of the 19th century. He was an exponent of utilitarianism, an ethical theory developed by Jeremy Bentham, although his conception of it was very different from Bentham's. He was a forceful proponent in the fight for government intervention in social reform.
Considerations on Representative Government
Read by Bill Boerst
Running Time:9:54:46 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Political Science
Mill's volume was published in 1861 as an argument favoring this form of governance. Mill covers what forms of government work best, including when representative government is applicable and when not. He details appropriate functions of representative bodies and warns of problems to avoid. He distinguishes between true and false democracy. Other areas covered include how voting is carried out, the role of a second chamber in Parliament, and how an executive branch might function.
Essays on Some Unsettled Questions of Political Economy
Read by Gary Gilberd
Running Time:5:29:02in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Business & Economics, Political Science
This is Mill’s first work on economics. It foreshadows his Political Economy which was the standard Anglo-American Economics textbook of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Mill’s economic theory moved from free market capitalism, to government intervention within the precepts of Utilitarianism, and finally to Socialism.
On Liberty
Read by David Barnes, Carl Manchester, Mike Kauffmann, ML Cohen
Running Time:5:21:54 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Philosophy
Published in 1859, On Liberty details Mill's view that individuals should be left wholly free to engage in any activity, thought or belief that does not harm others. Simple though it sounds, it is a position that challenges our ideas on the very nature of government and society, and sheds light on some of the key issues we face today. A key text of political philosophy, On Liberty has been continuously in print since its first publication.
Principles of Political Economy
John Stuart Mill and J. Laurence Laughlin
Read in English by Aaron Rivera; Nathan Rosquist; Anonymous; Jim Nyenhuis; T Bosc; Sean Lally; Farnood; Adrien; M Decker; Garrett Goodison; Shasta; Aaron Carlow; Josh Leach; Tricia G; Anna Simon; Dr P Gould; Josip B.; K Hand; Sonia
Running Time:25:36:34 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Business & Economics
The Principles of Political Economy, first published in 1848, was one of the most important texts on the subject of economy at that time. It is broken up into five books; Production, Distribution, Exchange, Influence of the Progress of Society on Production and Influence of Government.
This version is an abridged text book edited by J. Laurence Laughlin, and was used at the college level.
Speech on Capital Punishment, 1868
Read by Gary Gilberd
Running Time:00:23:41 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Essays & Short Works, Political Science
A speech against the bill Capital Punishment within Prisons meant to abolish the death penalty. Given in the House of Commons on 21 April 1868.
The Subjection of Women
Read by Paradise Camouflage, Serin, M B, Carl Manchester, Leon Mire, J. M. Smallheer, Anna Simon, Cori Samuel, Nikki Sullivan
Running Time:4:49:03 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Modern
The Subjection of Women is the title of an essay written by John Stuart Mill in 1869, possibly jointly with his wife Harriet Taylor Mill, stating an argument in favor of equality between the sexes. It offers both detailed argumentation and passionate eloquence in opposition to the social and legal inequalities commonly imposed upon women by a patriarchal culture. Just as in "On Liberty," Mill defends the emancipation of women on utilitarian grounds, convinced that the moral and intellectual advancement of women would result in greater happiness for everybody.
Three Essays on Religion
Read by Leon Mire, Sunny Shields,Ted Garvin, Joe D, Hear His
Running Time:6:18:02 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Non-fiction, Essays & Short Works, Religion
The Three Essays on Religion were written at different times during Mill's life, and only published after his death. The first two, 'Nature' and 'The Utility of Religion' date from the 1850s - the period between the publication of 'The Principles of Political Economy' and 'On Liberty'. The third longer essay, 'Theism' was written between 1868 and 1870. The three essays were published posthumously in 1874.
Utilitarianism
Read by D.E. Wittkower
Running Time:3:28:21 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Non-fiction, Philosophy
John Stuart Mill's book Utilitarianism is one of the most influential and widely-read philosophical defenses of utilitarianism in ethics. The essay first appeared as a series of three articles published in Fraser's Magazine in 1861; the articles were collected and reprinted as a single book in 1863. It went through four editions during Mill's lifetime with minor additions and revisions.
Although Mill includes discussions of utilitarian ethical principles in other works such as On Liberty and The Subjection of Women, Utilitarianism contains Mill's only major discussion of the fundamental grounds for utilitarian ethical theory.