John Stuart Mill was a very influential Western philosopher who had a different conception of liberty. Mill believed that it was necessary for society to have individualism. In his work “On Liberty ” Mill tries to argue that the only time an authoritarian body has the right to interfere with an individual is when it is for his own protection. (Quote) To support his argument, Mill discusses three types of freedom that he thinks a free society should have: 1. Freedom of thought and opinion, 2. The pursuit of one's own ends, and 3. How much power an authoritative body has over an individual. Mill believes that a governing body should not limit freedom of thought and of opinion. Mill also believes that we should not silence opinions because it is harmful to society as a whole. To demonstrate why it is harmful to society, Mill begins by arguing that no one or governing body should be able to limit their own opinion on issues and that people should be able to reach their own conclusions on issues. Mill discusses possible objections to his idea that freedom of speech and thought are necessary. There are four objections to Mills' thoughts on silencing the opinions to which he responds. 1. People who think they are right would be weak if they did not act according to their ideals when threats to humanity are present. 2. Authoritative bodies must stick to some ideals that help society. 3. Discrimination of the truth and 4. Since we do not silence those who speak out, none of these true ideals will disappear. In response to objection no. 1, Mill argues that without criticism and discourse one cannot have confidence that their beliefs are correct. Humans are not perfect and ideas need to be discussed because there are many sides to consider… in as many ways as possible. Individuality allows us to see others and how their opinions might relate and help us advance our own points of view. In the last part of "On Liberty" Mill discusses how much authority a governing body should have over an individual. Since society protects and keeps its citizens safe, Mill thinks that citizens should in turn obey a certain type of conduct. He thinks that individuals should not be allowed to harm others, that they should be able to intervene and protect other members of society if necessary, and that individuals' freedom of opinion should be limited if it harms others. Mill's entire argument is centered on the concept of individuality and he shows this well in his essay “On Freedom”. Now that we have discussed three prominent Western philosophers and their conceptions of freedom, we will take a look at Sayyid Qutb.