Looked upon in his day as the philosopher of the Utilitarians, James Mill was an independent thinker centrally concerned with problems of education. Professor Burston’s study places Mill’s Essay on Education, his contribution to the Encyclopaedia Britannica of the day, in its historical context and examines the views expressed in this and in other private and published writings, discussing in detail how Mill’s view of ethics, psychology and theory of knowledge related to his theory of education, his practical experience as a teacher (especially of his own children) and to his philosophical position as a whole.

This work will be of value to all interested in the interrelations of history, philosophy and education in the early nineteenth century.