Mill and the
Harm Principle
Harm Principle
The most fundamental good, according to Mill.
What is Happiness or Utility?
Feinberg's statement of the Offense Principle.
What is "It is always a good reason in favor of a proposed criminal prohibition that it would probably be an effective way of preventing serious offense to persons other than the actor and that it is probably a means to that end."?
Restrictions of liberty motivated by the good of the individual restricted.
What is paternalism?
Ripstein's understanding of independence.
What is being the one who decides what's end you will use your powers to pursue?
Extra credit: what is domination?
The sense in which negative legal moralism is negative.
What is that negative legal moralism involves a commitment to the significance of an action's not being wrong?
Mill's statement of the Harm Principle.
What is “The only purpose which which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.”?
Feinberg's thought experiment used to illustrate the types of offense and motivate the thought that some offenses are in principle criminalizable.
What is the Ride on the Bus?
Paternalism that restricts the liberty of the individual's whose good is being considered and the liberty of others.
What is impure paternalism?
The kind of wrong Ripstein objects that the Harm Principle cannot justify criminalizing. (e.g., Ripstein taking a nap in your bed)
What is a harmless trespass?
Moralism that takes being wrong to always be a reason in favor of criminalization.
What is ambitious positive legal moralism?
The reason coercion is always an evil, according to Mill.
What is fact that all coercion causes frustration and thus always involves some disutility?
Some serious wrongs are not harmful but still warrant restriction.
What is Feinberg's reasoning for accepting the Offense Principle in addition to the Harm Principle?
The way in which Mill's Harm Principle is incompatible with Paternalism.
The difference between usurping and destroying a power.
What is that usurping involves using the power and destroying involves removing the power?
The types of wrongs that the state should be concerned with, according to Duff.
What are public wrongs?
The reason Mill believes liberty is essential to human development.
What is the idea that humans are "progressive beings"?
Feinberg argues wrongful offenses are this type of wrong.
What is a public nuisance?
The two justificatory burdens paternalistic legislation must meet according to Dworkin.
What are demonstrated real harm and being the least restrictive means to prevent it?
The only legitimate restrictions on conduct, according to the sovereignty principle.
What are those that secure the mutual independence of free persons from each other?
Mala prohibida actions that Duff considers permissibly criminalizable.
What are pre-criminally wrongful actions?
Extra credit: What are the mala prohibits actions that are not permissibly criminalizable?
Mill’s reasoning for why coercion should never be used to prevent self-harm.
What is the fact that coercion in these cases it is more likely to cause more disutility than utility?
Extra credit: Why is this the case?
A wrongfully produced undesirable mental state.
What is offense in the sense relevant to Feinberg's Offense Principle?
The types of cases in which Dworkin argues paternalism is justified.
What are those which "preserve a wider range of freedom for the individual in question" (287)?
Using possessions without permission is this kind of domination.
What is determining the ends to which the powers of another person (the owner) are used?
Conduct must be a public wrong, sufficiently serious, and enforceable.
What are the three conditions conduct must meet to be criminalizable?