Mill, James (1773-1836), a British philosopher and writer, helped develop the utilitarian philosophy. Utilitarianism is the belief that the ultimate goal of public policy should be to promote the general happiness. The British philosopher Jeremy Bentham founded utilitarianism. After meeting Bentham about 1808, Mill became his disciple and helped lead a group of utilitarian thinkers who became known as the “philosophical radicals.”
Mill’s writings clarified key aspects of Bentham’s utilitarianism. Mill’s best-known book, The History of British India (1817), analyzed the history of British colonial policy in India from a utilitarian standpoint. In 1819, largely on the strength of this book, Mill was appointed to the East India Company. Mill’s other well-known works include Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind (1829), the essay “Government” (1820), and Elements of Political Economy (1821). This last book served as an introduction to the economic theories of one of Mill’s close friends, British economist David Ricardo.
Mill was born on April 6, 1773, in Scotland and graduated from Edinburgh University. He became a Presbyterian minister in 1798, but he left the ministry and moved to London in 1802. He died on June 23, 1836. Mill’s son, John Stuart Mill, became a famous utilitarian philosopher.
