John Stuart Mill has not been considered, for the most part, a useful contributor to debates about either the of individuals in social groups or to the resolution of conflicts between diverse social groups. But Mill's attempt to combine the role of the with the theory of social science requires him to situate the social scientific inquirer in a contingent, historical, and cultural social group and to consider both the prospects and difficulties the diversity of cultural groups presents. By examining (...) the role of and in Mill's thought, Mill's position on the just treatment of diverse groups emerges. Because of the threat posed to liberty and critical rationality by any dominant group, Mill attempts to develop institutional arrangements that prevent any group becoming dominant and that embody critical rationality. A concrete example of such an institutional arrangement is found, somewhat surprisingly, in Mill's India policy. (shrink)

John Stuart Mill's thought on education and schools reflects his wider educational project for individuals and society. As a writer, activist and Member of Parliament, he contributed to the educational debates of his day regarding the form that the new institutions of mass education should take and how they should be funded. He argues that schools should be funded by the state but not controlled by it and advocates a system of competing experiments, monitored by competitive examinations based on facts (...) and payment of teachers by their pupils' results. The democratic and participatory vision of education that he advocates, even for the working class, anticipates the progressive education of Dewey. (shrink)