During the Enlightenment‚ revolutionary thinkers called philosophes brought about new ideas as to how to better understand and improve their society. They were all modern thinkers and had the best interests of society in mind. Although each philosoph had his or her own ideas‚ they all centered around one main theme: equality and human freedom. One famous influential philosopher was John Locke. Locke was born in England in the mid 17th century and lived through both the English Civil War
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Revolution in the 18th Century: Who Did It Better? Justin Merkel October 24‚ 2011 The French Revolution is said to be one of the greatest revolutions in Western history. Indeed it was one of the first instances in History where the middle class protested against their government and actually won. Not only did they win‚ but they completely overthrew a monarchy and reformed their entire government. However‚ a similar revolution was taking place around the same time; this
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To better understand the reasoning behind these claims one has to first understand the arguments that Rousseau makes. Rousseau states that the social contract is the process of the people coming together to form an agreement dealing with individual rights‚ self governance‚ and freedom. At a certain point humans need to depend on the cooperation of others because they can no longer fulfill their needs on their own. As a result of the social contract each person enjoys protection and security of their
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Ryan Anderson Phil 110 5/12/17 Question 1 In the Republic‚ Plato and Glaucon have a difference of opinion when it comes to the idea of justice. Glaucon believes that justice is something we keep up for the sake of others‚ unlike Plato who believes that justice is a benefit that improves one’s own life as well as everyone around them. Justice is simply a social contract theory that would have no basis if not for the existence of rules or the moral conscience of humans. If the concept of justice didn’t
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Born free merely means not born into slavery. But it is arguable whether anyone is "born free". We are all enslaved by society to some degree. As a child we are at the mercy of our parents and teachers. Our parents can screw us up so easily with wrong food ‚ wrong support‚ wrong advice‚ etc. Our teachers can fill our minds with the wrong ideas and knowledge. But we have to do what they say. Later we may have to serve in the army‚ whether we want to or not. When they say jump you say "Yessir
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Is it fair to call Hegel an authoritarian liberal’? Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is one of the most influential and most difficult political theorists in the history of western thought. This is one of the first points that is realised when researching his works and readings. His name is invoked by many philosophers that followed him yet not often truly understood. This can often be put down to the different way his political theory was perceived by the reader. Even the supporters of Hegels thought
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The dystopian society that is depicted in Ayn Rand’s Anthem is all about selfishness. The Great WE runs the world. It is the way of life. Even through the dark cloud that is WE at least one I shines through. This light is Equality 7-2521. He is the individualism in this society. He is the first domino in the chain of individualistic life. Equality 7-2521 is absorbed in his own learning. He wants to better his knowledge. Equality is selfish and invested in his own betterment. His brothers would
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The beginning of the passage describes the state of nature. A perfect state of nature is where man is equal to one another and have equal freedoms. Man are restricted from invading others’ rights and from hurting one another. Doing so can cause war and havoc. Men should be only governed by reason. The next part of the passage questions why a man would ever want to leave the state of nature of freedom to be controlled by a higher power. Locke makes the argument that without a higher power or form
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John Locke’s political beliefs have stood the test of time. Most American’s may know realize that when Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence‚ he used Locke’s Second Treatise of Government as inspiration. In fact‚ the most famous line from this historic document is nearly entirely Locke. And if one were to scratch at the surface of “Life‚ Liberty‚ and the pursuit of Happiness” 1‚ one would find the thin veneer of Jeffersonian philosophy disappear leaving nothing but John Locke’s
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Hobbes‚ the writer of the book leviathan‚ which is the terms for the meaning of a sea monster for his political monarch. The sea monster expresses his power over the sea just a monarch expresses his power over the people. This thinking lead to defining that the state of nature is self-preservation. Hobbes quotes that “no society; ...and the life of man‚ solitary‚ poor‚ nasty‚ brutish‚ and short.” He is saying that a system with no laws and government life would be brutal. The solution is a government
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