The Theory of the Moral Permissibility of the Subjective Harm

This paper shows that Mill has used 18 different terms for “harm” in his On Liberty. Then, it criticizes Mill’s “Harm Principle” and, instead, raises a new theory entitled the “Moral Permissibility of the Subjective Harm.” This theory is based on the “necessity” and “avoidability” of the “harm.” It uses “~□p → ◊~p” formula in the “deontic logic” to show the “unnecessity” and “avoidability” of the “harm” and distinguish “subjective” from “objective” “harm:” X is “objective” iff (if and only if) it is “necessary” or “unavoidable,” and it is “subjective” iff it is “unnecessary” or “avoidable.” Finally, it will describe the “reasons” and “consequences” of the “moral permissibility” of the “subjective harm.”