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    Mill's argument against paternalism is structurally weak ... — Carmelics
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    Mill's argument against paternalism is structurally weak in that it fails to object to successful paternalism

    Consequentialism
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    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Mill's argument against paternalism is analogous to his truth-tracking defense of freedom of expression
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    • 2.Mill's truth-tracking defense of freedom of expression provides no objection to successful censorship — censorship of all and only false beliefs
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    • 3.By parallel reasoning, Mill's argument against paternalism provides no objection to successful paternalism — restrictions on liberty that do benefit the person restricted
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    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
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    • 1.Mill's anti-paternalism rests not only on epistemic grounds but on the intrinsic value of self-authorship as constitutive of human flourishing.
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    • 2.A restriction that produces the 'correct' outcome by bypassing the agent's own deliberation still fails to develop the individual's capacities for autonomous choice.
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    • 3.Therefore, successful paternalism remains objectionable on Mill's view because it undermines the very faculty—self-governance—whose exercise is itself part of wellbeing.
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    Reason against 2 of 2
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    • 1.The analogy to censorship fails because Mill treats self-regarding conduct as a domain where the individual's own judgment has final authority regardless of epistemic outcomes.
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    • 2.In On Liberty, Mill distinguishes between truth-claims subject to intersubjective correction and personal life-plans whose validity is internal to the agent's own ends.
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    • 3.Successful paternalism, unlike successful censorship, violates a domain-boundary principle, not merely an epistemic one, so the structural parallel does not hold.
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    Topics

    Rights & LibertyConsequentialism

    Connections

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    Truth & Knowledge2 linked

    Related

    A restriction that produces the 'correct' outcome by bypassing the agent's own d...By parallel reasoning, Mill's argument against paternalism provides no objection...In On Liberty, Mill distinguishes between truth-claims subject to intersubjectiv...Mill's anti-paternalism rests not only on epistemic grounds but on the intrinsic...
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    Mill's argument against paternalism is analogous to his truth-tracking defense o...Mill's truth-tracking defense of freedom of expression provides no objection to ...Successful paternalism, unlike successful censorship, violates a domain-boundary...The analogy to censorship fails because Mill treats self-regarding conduct as a ...Therefore, successful paternalism remains objectionable on Mill's view because i...

    Similar

    By parallel reasoning, Mill's argument against paternalism provides no...83%Consequentialist arguments against state paternalism do not support a ...83%Consequentialist arguments against paternalism object to unsuccessful ...83%Consequentialist arguments provide no principled objection to successf...82%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: mill-moral-political
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    These are reasonably strong consequentialist arguments against giving the state a broad discretionary power to engage in paternalistic legislation whenever it sees fit. However, they do not support a categorical ban on paternalism. In particular, these arguments provide no principled objection to paternalism—no objection to successful paternalistic restrictions on B’s liberty that do in fact benefit B. This weakness in Mill’s explicit argument against paternalism is like the weakness in his trut
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit