Liberty of thought and discussion
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Question
Mill's assumption-of-infallibility point?
Answer
To silence an opinion is to assume you can't possibly be wrong — but confident majorities have often been wrong.
Question
Mill's three reasons for free discussion?
Answer
The view might be true; might be partly true; and even if false, opposition keeps our own truth alive.
Question
'All mankind minus one…' — the point?
Answer
Even one dissenter has no less right to speak than everyone else has to silence them — silencing is never justified.
Question
Dead dogma?
Answer
A true belief held by habit, without understanding why it's true — because it's never been challenged.
Question
Living truth?
Answer
A belief you both grasp and can defend, because you've met the objections to it.
Question
Why does even a FALSE opinion help us?
Answer
Meeting it forces us to understand why our own view is true, keeping it a living truth rather than dead dogma.
Question
Is Mill a relativist about truth?
Answer
No — he defends free speech precisely because truth exists and open debate is how fallible people reach it.
Question
Why is free speech 'for everyone', not the speaker?
Answer
Silencing a view robs all listeners of a possible truth, a half-truth, or the challenge that keeps their truth alive.
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Topic 10.12 hub
On Liberty — Mill
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