第38章

Ithink，then，thatMill，thoughessentiallyintheright，hasaninadequateperceptionofoneaspectofthequestion。

Elsewhere(17*)hecomplainsthatwehavesubstitutedanapotheosisofinstinctforanapotheosisofreason，andsofallenintoaninfinitelymore’degradingidolatry。’Here，heseemsinclinedtoattackallbeliefsnotduetotheindividualreasonactingindependently。Heaccentuatestoodecidedlytheabsolutevalue，notoffreedom，butofitsincidentalresult，contradiction。Heseemstoholdthatoppositiontoanestablishedopinionisgoodinitself。Hewouldapproveofcircle-squarersandperpetual-motionmakersbecausetheyopposeestablishedscientificdoctrines。Headmiresoriginalityevenwhenitimpliesstupidity。Intelligenceshowsitselfasmuchinrecognisingavalidproofasinrejectingafallacy；andtheprogressofthoughtisasdependentuponco-operationandtheacceptanceofrationalauthorityasuponrejectingerrorsanddecliningtosubmittoarbitraryauthority。Amanafteralloughttorealisetheimprobabilityofhisbeingrightagainstaconsensusofgreatthinkers。Millhimselfremarks，whencriticisingBentham，thatevenoriginalityisnot’amorenecessarypartofthephilosophicalcharacterthanathoughtfulregardforpreviousthinkersandforthecollectivemindofthehumanrace。’(18*)

That，Itakeit，isperfectlytrue，butisapttopassoutofsightinhisargument。Theidealstateisnotoneofperpetualcontradictionoffirstprinciples，butoneinwhichcontradictionhasledtotheestablishmentofarationalauthority。

III。THEDECAYOFINDIVIDUALITY

Ihaveinsisteduponthischieflybecauseasimilarerrorseemstointrudeintothemoredifficultproblemswhichfollow。

Therealdifficultyoftolerationariseswhenwehavetodrawthelinebetweenspeculationandaction。Isitpossibletodiscriminateabsolutely？togiveabsolutefreedomtothoughtandyettomaintaininstitutionswhichpresupposeagreementuponatleastsomegeneralprinciples？Ifmen，asMillasks，shouldbefreetoformandtoutteropinions，shouldtheynotbefreetoactupontheiropinions——tocarrythemout，solongatleastasitis’attheirownriskandperil’——intheirlives？(19*)Howdoestheprinciplepresentitselfinthiscase？Millhasdeclined(20*)totakeadvantageofanyassumptionofabsoluteright。Hewishestogiveapositiveground；toshowthatthelibertywhichhedemandscorrespondsinpointoffacttoanecessaryfactorofhumanprogress。Hisowndoctrineisthatthe’developmentofindividualityisoneoftheleadingessentialsofwell-being’；andheadoptsasidenticalthedoctrineofWilhelmvonHumboldt，(21*)thattherightendofmanis’thehighestandmostharmoniousdevelopmentofhispowerstoacompleteandconsistentwhole。’Humboldtconsidersthisendtobe’prescribedbytheeternalorimmutabledictatesofreason。’Millwouldprefer，wemaysuppose，tohaveregardeditastheuniformteachingofexperience。Ineithercase，itisabroadandelevateddoctrinewhichfewthinkerswoulddenyingeneralterms。

Itis，moreover，eminentlycharacteristicofMillinhisbestmood。Heneverwrotemoreforciblythaninhisexpositionofthisdoctrine。Heisnowstimulatedbythebeliefthatheispreachinginpainfullydeafears：Inadvocatingfreedomofthoughtordenouncingdespotismhewasenforcingthedoctrinesmostcertainofpopularapplause。Butnobodycaredmuchfor’individuality’orobjectedtothesubtlerformsofmoraltyranny。Themassesaresatisfiedwiththeirownways；andeven’moralandsocialreformers’wantasaruletosuppressallmoralitybuttheirown。

Millisutteringforebodingscommontothemostcultivatedclass。

Thefearlestthegrowthofdemocracyshouldimplyacrushingoutofallthehigherculturehasbeenutteredininnumerableformsbysomeofourmosteloquentwritersandkeenestthinkers。ThecourseofeventssinceMill’sdeathhascertainlynotweakenedsuchfears。Theproblemiss