Abstract

Why did Mill write On Liberty? After motivating the need for asking this seemingly unnecessary question, I argue that Mill's main concern was not with defi ning the scope and content of the principle of liberty or with eliciting assent from his contemporaries; but rather with showing what taking such a very simple principle to heart amounts to. The notion of taking a doctrine to heart highlights a common theme behind many of the seemingly unrelated issues of the book. Finally, the paper offers some explanations of our failure to take to heart doctrines which we at one level assent to.