Filozofska istraživanja, Vol. 43 No. 1, 2023.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21464/fi43106
Harm, Liberty, and Contagious Diseases in John Stuart Mill’s Philosophy
Ivan Cerovac
orcid.org/0000-0003-3416-5295
; Sveučilište u Rijeci, Filozofski fakultet, Sveučilišna avenija 4, HR–51000 Rijeka
Abstract
The paper analyses John Stuart Mill’s harm principle and its proper application in the process of drafting and evaluating laws, political decisions, and measures used to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. By interpreting Mill as an epistemic democrat and an epistemic liberal, the paper focuses on Mill’s thoughts regarding the decision-making procedures appropriate for legislation in a pandemic. Additionally, it discusses the proper division of epistemic and political labor, one of the most important mechanisms Mill uses to filter the public will, and demonstrates how Mill’s arguments can help us balance between epistemic and moral virtues, i.e. between democratic and expert-oriented decision-making.
Keywords
democracy; expertism; pandemic; COVID-19; harm principle
Hrčak ID:
309354
URI
Publication date:
7.5.2023.
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