Literature
ìSociety in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamities is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer. Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are build on the ruins of the bowers of paradiseî
To what extent and why, would Rousseau and Locke agree with the above statement?
According to Jesus, ìin everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophetsî (Mt, 7:12). How (if at all) does this idea, also known as the golden rule, differ from Kantís categorical imperative? Does the golden rule more resemble Kantís idea of ethical behavior, or Mandevilleís notion of self-liking? How might you distinguish Lockeís view of behavior in the state of nature from these three views?
ìWe hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the RIght of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.î
Do these words seem to derive more from Lockeís ideas or Rousseauís? What would Paine make of these words?
Oh! yet a little while
May I behold in thee what I was once,
My dear, dear Sister! And this prayer I make,
Knowing that Nature did never betray
The heart that loved her; ëtis her privilege,
Through all the years of this our life, to lead
From joy to joy: for she can so inform
The mind that is within us, so impress
With quietness and beauty, and so feed
With lofty thoughts, that neither evil tongues,
Rash judgements, nor the sneers of selfish men,
Nor greetings where no kindness is, nor all
The dreary intercourse of daily life
Shall eíer prevail against us, or disturb
Our cheerful faith that all which we behold
Is full of blessings
– From Tintern Abbey
What is the significance of this passage? How does it relate to the rest of the poem in which it appears? How do the ideas in this poem relate to other poems we have read in this course? Would you say the sentiments conveyed here are similar to those felt by Candide at the end of Voltaireís novel? Why or why not?
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