Compare, contrast and evaluate Plato and Mill on the relationship between individual and society

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Compare, contrast and evaluate Plato and Mill on the relationship between individual and society

        Plato was born around 428-7 BC, he lived for the most part of his life in Athens, and had much to say about Athenian democracy. Mill was born much later in London in 1806, but although over two thousand years of political philosophy divide the two, much of the same issues and concerns arise in both their work though often with very different outlooks.

Despite their differing opinions Plato and Mill are both antithetical, or in other words believe that the “tyranny of the majority” is to be feared. Plato believes that individuals are selfish and pursue their own self-interests at the expense of the rest of the population, and follow their own moral path. The philosopher individual is epitomised by the “Gadfly”. The gadfly is referred to by Plato in the Apology, to describe Socrates’ relationship with the Athenian political scene. Socrates believed he irritated for the purpose of leading people closer to the truth ‘to sting people and whip them into a fury, all in the service of truth’. The gadfly describes a person who upsets the status quo by posing lots of questions. Plato states that while the gadfly is easy to swat, the cost to society of silencing an individual simply because of his irritancy could be extremely high. This seems to contradict some of what he has to say on his republic, as he stifles the lower class citizens in the Kallipolis, counting their opinions as obsolete in comparison to the philosophers. The gadfly is also mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Jeremiah also relating to political influence ‘Egypt is a very fair heifer; the gadfly cometh, it cometh from the North’. Plato believes that Democracy fosters the wrong kind of individual, hence the Kallipolis, which is the inverse of Democracy, designed to bring about the ‘right way of living’.

In Plato’s view, an individual is fulfilled by the contribution that he or she makes to the overall functioning of the community, and the Kallipolis is designed to make this possible for everyone. Plato’s state also respects the individuality of its members and treats them equally. In Plato’s republic, the state limits the freedom of its individuals, but only to ensure that all the members receive the same amount of freedom. In effect, Plato believes that the repression of individual freedom results in equal freedom for the society as a whole.

This is contrasted to Mill, whose view is that, excluding children, the individual is sovereign over himself, his body and his mind. Interference in an individual’s beliefs or actions is wrong. Unless it is known that one is inflicting harm upon another, interference is not justified. Mill has three liberties that are the hallmark of a free society- the first is the freedom of thoughts and sentiment on all subjects, including freedom of expression and publication. The second liberty is the freedom of taste; the fact that others may disapprove of an individual’s actions or beliefs, is not justified by Mill as the basis of interference, for example homosexuality. The third and final liberty necessary for a free society is the freedom of individuals to unite as long as the resulting union does not lead to others being harmed as a result. Mill forbids coercion and deception within the union, as he believes it is unjustified to have a direct negative impact on the utility of others (this does not involve doing something which someone else does not agree with).

         Mill encourages individualism and self-development or ‘human flourishing’ as he believes that it will only benefit society, as the individuals will be able to contribute more if they reach their full potential and are allowed to develop their own ideals and opinions.  Mill has concerns over the limits of which power can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual. Safeguards are necessary to ensure that the majority does not suppress the minority. ‘Mankind would be no more justified in silencing one person, than that one person; if he had the power would be justified in silencing mankind’. Plato believes that false opinions could be dangerous to society, whereas Mill would say they were necessary in order to help obtain the truth, something that we as humans so desperately strive to obtain. Plato believes that satisfying our desires is something scarcely worth caring about, whereas Mill would encourage us to do so as long as it brings utility rather than harm. Free discussion in Mill’s opinion will only aid us in getting closer to the truth, as who is to decide what is true if there is no proof? A combination of views, questions and opinions are better than one view or opinion that is decided to be true, and not questioned. There are always people who will disagree with something that others agree with, so who is ‘right’?

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         Plato believes that in order to have a productive and harmonious society, conditioning or training is necessary to ensure that the members’ actual desires coincide as far as possible with their real desires, thus reducing conflict. Mill would argue that this is in a sense brainwashing the individuals to believe that they are happy and that they are fulfilling desires, when in fact they are only fulfilling what the Philosopher Kings have told them they desire. Plato believes in critical freedom, which the Kallipolis is intended to provide to its members as much as their nature permits, Mill however ...

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