The Autobiography of John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 8 May 1873) was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of utilitarianism, an ethical theory developed by Jeremy Bentham. Hoping to remedy the problems found in an inductive approach to science, such as confirmation bias, he clearly set forth the premises of falsification as the key component in the scientific method. He was also a Member of Parliament and an important figure in liberal political philosophy. Mill first drafted his Autobiography on 1853-54 at 47 years of age, wanting "to stop the mouths of enemies hereafter" who had thought and said scandalous things about his 21-year relationship with the woman he would later marry. He also wanted to record his intellectual obligations and his debt to his wife and under the impression that both he and his wife were deteriorating from consumption ( his wife died in 1858, but he lived until 1873) he wanted to set down a great many ideas that he had not yet put into print.

Through Mill's autobiography, the social and political climate of nineteenth century England comes alive. The reader is given new insights into the events of an age: the reform movements, the English-Irish question, the development of democratic principles. With candor and perception, Mill discusses these issues and explains how they influenced his writing and thinking.