John Stuart Mill: A Biography

Nicholas Capaldi’s biography of John Stuart Mill traces the ways in which Mill’s many endeavours are related and explores the significance of Mill’s contribution to metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, social and political philosophy, the philosophy of religion, and the philosophy of education. He shows how Mill was groomed for his life by both his father James Mill, and Jeremy Bentham, the two most prominent philosophical radicals of the early nineteenth century. Yet Mill revolted against this education and developed friendships with both Thomas Carlyle and Samuel Taylor Coleridge who introduced him to Romanticism and political conservatism. A special feature of this biography is the attention devoted to his relationship with Harriet Taylor. No one exerted a greater influence than the woman he was eventually to marry. Nicholas Capaldi reveals just how deep her impact was on Mill’s thinking about the emancipation of women.

• First accessible integration of life and thought • Special attention to influence of Harriet Taylor on Mill’s thought

1. Childhood and early education: the great experiment (1806–1820); 2. Company man and youthful propaganda (1821–1826); 3. Crisis (1826–1830); 4. The discovery of romance and romanticism (1830–1840); 5. The transitional essays; 6. Intellectual success (1840–1845); 7. Worldly success (1846–1850); 8. Private years (1850–1859); 9. The memorial essays: utilitarianism, representative government, on liberty; 10. Public intellectual (1859–1869); 11. Last years (1869–1873).

‘The weaving together of ideas with accounts of personal life and historical events brings to life Mill’s views, makes his ideas more engaging and is a particularly effective way of securing a deeper understanding of both the man and the values and interests which dominated his life.’ C. L. Ten, The National University of Singapore

‘This is a new interpretation of Mill, based on deep research and wide reading and one that will shape future generations\' understanding of the man and his works.‘ Contemporary Review

‘… an engaging book that gives a rounded picture of Mill as person and thinker. … It gives us a readable and carefully documented retelling, enlivened with well-chosen and often even comical detail … The task of giving a readable account of someone as deeply inward as Mill is a real challenge, and Capaldi meets it …‘ Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences

\'… fine intellectual biography … a very high standard …\' The Heythrop Journal