Is John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty Obsolete? - Vincent Blasi W

Nowhere does he speak of freedom of expression, and he uses the word ‘expres- sion’ only in the phrase ‘expression of opinion.’” According to Vernon, the argu- ment “is plausible only if we suppose that the items exchanged in the critical pro- cess are propositions about actual or desirable states of affairs in the world, prop- ositions capable of being accumulated into larger bodies of knowledge.. [...] The dominant form of intermediation in the digital age is the prioritization practices of the companies that control the key content delivery links of the internet. [...] Can we say that the forming and discussing of one’s thoughts in the digital age is a different sort of process than formerly, with a lower level of social impor- tance? It might well be true that digital technology has caused the ideas we hold about matters of general interest to be less the product of our distinctive personas, life experiences, and introspection, and more the product of outside f. [...] Among the desired consequences that form the heart of Mill’s argument in chapter two for the transcendent value of the liberty of thought and discussion are a high level of collective energy, societal adaptability to chang- ing circumstances, and broad investment in the search to find and harness new knowledge. [...] A third idea at the heart of Mill’s public opinion–based case for the liberty of thought and discussion is the ideal of the open mind: “In the case of any person whose judgment is really deserving of confidence, how has it become so? Because he has kept his mind open to criticism of his opinions and conduct.”36 It is not an exaggeration to say that the concept of “corrigibility of belief” is the k.