If I hadn't admired Mill before, I certainly would have after reading the autobiography, solely on the strength of his early support for women's suffrage and his unconditional love and praise for his wife and stepdaughter. And it wasn't the kind of praise that is bragging about himself through the artifice of praising these women, but is, as far as I can tell, a genuine, deep admiration for their mental abilities and writing skills.
Having seen the ongoing effects of gender prejudice in the lives of my wife and other women I admire, I'm acutely aware that, 170 years later, we're still struggling to achieve the gender equity he espoused so early and so courageously.
Isn't he wonderful? You must read The Subjection of Women next, a hidden masterpiece. Yes genuine admiration and ability to see quality where others couldn't.
I think Mill would be impressed with our progress in some ways, and disappointed as you say in others. His prediction was that women's suffrage would bring about the necessary changes, and a lot of that has been true, compared with his time.
the more people we can persuade to read Mill the better!
I've begun the autobiography. Also just found a copy of George Jacob Holyoake's pamphlet, which he wrote when Mill died, in answer to a letter in the Times. I thought this might shed some light on the youthful promotion of Place's ideas on birth control (https://archive.org/details/johnstuartmilla00holygoog). I remember reading about that somewhere, years ago, and I'm searching my archives.
Yes, I liked that. But as I remember the story, Mill was traumatized by a night he spent in jail when he was picked up for distributing handbills to working families. I'm looking for the source of that.
I'll let you know when I find the source. As I recall, it seemed like a very formative moment. I remember when I read it, I thought it helped explain Mill's later tentativeness in political activism, relative to someone like Bradlaugh who was also a neo-Malthusian.
If I hadn't admired Mill before, I certainly would have after reading the autobiography, solely on the strength of his early support for women's suffrage and his unconditional love and praise for his wife and stepdaughter. And it wasn't the kind of praise that is bragging about himself through the artifice of praising these women, but is, as far as I can tell, a genuine, deep admiration for their mental abilities and writing skills.
Having seen the ongoing effects of gender prejudice in the lives of my wife and other women I admire, I'm acutely aware that, 170 years later, we're still struggling to achieve the gender equity he espoused so early and so courageously.
Isn't he wonderful? You must read The Subjection of Women next, a hidden masterpiece. Yes genuine admiration and ability to see quality where others couldn't.
I think Mill would be impressed with our progress in some ways, and disappointed as you say in others. His prediction was that women's suffrage would bring about the necessary changes, and a lot of that has been true, compared with his time.
the more people we can persuade to read Mill the better!
I've begun the autobiography. Also just found a copy of George Jacob Holyoake's pamphlet, which he wrote when Mill died, in answer to a letter in the Times. I thought this might shed some light on the youthful promotion of Place's ideas on birth control (https://archive.org/details/johnstuartmilla00holygoog). I remember reading about that somewhere, years ago, and I'm searching my archives.
Some details on that in my video
Yes, I liked that. But as I remember the story, Mill was traumatized by a night he spent in jail when he was picked up for distributing handbills to working families. I'm looking for the source of that.
Not sure about traumatised but it spread a lot of gossip and he kept it very very quiet
I'll let you know when I find the source. As I recall, it seemed like a very formative moment. I remember when I read it, I thought it helped explain Mill's later tentativeness in political activism, relative to someone like Bradlaugh who was also a neo-Malthusian.
He was a smart political thinker who knew what issue to focus on and not to associate with the wrong causes yes