Mill, James, 1773–1836, British philosopher, economist, and historian, b. Scotland; father of John Stuart Mill. Educated as a clergyman at Edinburgh through the patronage of Sir John Stuart, Mill gave up the ministry and went to London in 1802 to pursue a career writing for and editing periodicals. He met Jeremy Bentham c.1808 and became an ardent advocate of utilitarianism. On the strength of his History of British India (3 vol., 1817), on which he had worked for over 10 years, he secured a permanent position with the East India Company. Others of his works were Elements of Political Economy (1821), Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind (2 vol., 1829), and A Fragment on Mackintosh (1835), which contains the best exposition of his psychological and ethical theories. Mill furnished a psychological basis for utilitarian ethics by expanding the associationism of David Hume. Association by contiguity, where ideas that occur frequently together form combinations, may be such a subtle process that the merging of ideas may occur without leaving any trace of the elements that went into their formulation. Derived conceptions may thus achieve autonomy of value quite apart from their obvious egoistic advantage. This is the origin of altruistic motives, which are otherwise difficult to explain on utilitarian grounds. It is also the origin of conscience.

Bibliography

See W. H. Burston, James Mill on Philosophy and Education (1973).

Mill, James

(born April 6, 1773, Northwater Bridge, Forfarshire, Scot.—died June 23, 1836, London, Eng.) Scottish philosopher, historian, and economist. After studying at the University of Edinburgh and teaching, he went to London in 1802, where he met Jeremy Bentham and became a major promulgator of Bentham's utilitarianism. He wrote for several journals, including the Edinburgh Review (1808–13), and contributed articles on government and education to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. He helped found London University in 1825. After completing his History of British India (3 vol., 1817), he was appointed an official in India House (1819) and later became head of the examiner's office (1830). His criticism of British rule led to changes in the government of India. His Elements of Political Economy (1821) summarized the views of David Ricardo, and his Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind (1829) associated psychology with utilitarianism, a doctrine continued by his son, John Stuart Mill. Mill is considered the founder of philosophical radicalism.