In the early draft of his Autobiography (London, 1873), John Stuart Mill described himself as "a pupil of Plato, and cast in the mould of his dialectics." However, how Plato's influence came about, to what extent, and with regard to which aspects of Mill's thought, form questions that do not usually preoccupy Mill scholarship. To fill this gap in critical attention, this book draws upon a variety of primary sources to pay particular attention to Mill's concern with reform, method, character, virtue, and happiness through his reading of the ancient Greeks-particularly Plato. At the same time, this book focuses on the intellectual relationship between father and son, studying their responses to the prevalent trends as to the worth of classical studies and of Platonic philosophy in nineteenth-century Britain. Not only does John Stuart Mill's "intoxication" with ancient Greece manifest itself in all those aspects of his works already mentioned; but-what is most important-it also permeates his unvarying aim: the improvement of mankind through the improvement of its individual members.
Abbreviations Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: Classical Reception in Nineteenth-Century Britain Chapter One: Reform through Classics Contesting the Place of Classics Athenian Institutions and Reform Concluding Remarks Notes Chapter Two: Plato in Pre-Victorian Britain Rediscovering Plato A Neoplatonist Born Out of Due Season Socrates in Early-Nineteenth Century Socrates, Plato and the Utilitarians Concluding Remarks Notes Chapter Three: James Mill on Plato Radicalising Plato James Mill's `Platonism' Concluding Remarks Notes Part II: John Stuart Mill's Appropriation of Plato Chapter Four: Educative Past Reforming Educational Practice Reforming Social Institutions Reforming Political Practice Concluding Remarks Notes Chapter Five: Reading Plato Mill's First Reading: Defining Plato's Creed Mill's Second Reading: Grote's Plato Concluding Remarks Notes Chapter Six: On Plato's Method Mill's Intellectual Development and Plato Mill's Dialectical Method Concluding Remarks Notes Part III: John Stuart Mill's Platonic Heritage Chapter Seven: The Art of Life Reason and Action Mill and the Art of Life An Education for the Art of Life Concluding Remarks Notes Chapter Eight: Character, Ethology and Virtue Defining Character Means and Ends of Character Formation Concluding Remarks Notes Chapter Nine: Eudaimonia and Utility Utility or Eudaimonia? Additive and Directive Views of Happiness Direction, Pleasure and Lives Concluding Remarks Notes Conclusion Bibliography Index
