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THE ANCIENTS
The founders of our country were well-educated and well-read in ancient works as well as the Enlightenment philosophers and political thinkers of their times, which they mentioned often in their writings.
Plato (c 425-350 BCE)
His writings were based on the unwritten teachings of Socrates, who stated that morality is in the best interests of the individual and society and the ultimate path to happiness. Values must be subject to critical analysis. In The Republic, he states that our true nature is rational and that civilized society must be organized and conducted according to rational principles. The average person mistakenly believes that self-interest is tied to irrational desires, whereas our real self-interest and the fulfillment of our true nature lies in the control of irrational desires by reason.
Aristotle (384-322)
A student of Plato. In his Politics, he states that the only good ruler is the one who doesn’t want to rule. Ambition leads to greed and tyranny. Education is essential for those who would lead, and enlightened advisors should provide guidance to leaders. Imperfect societies are the result of ignorance. The state is for the good of all.
ENLIGHTENMENT WRITERS
Pre-enlightenment beliefs were often that human misfortunes and natural disasters were the result of punishment for our wickedness. Enlightenment philosophers rejected divine revelation as a source of knowledge and stated that knowledge instead is based on observation and reason, which was a return to the ancients. Human passions are a natural phenomenon, not the realm of the devil.
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
Meditations on First Philosophy attempts to arrive at a fundamental set of principles about which no one can doubt. He tries to eliminate our beliefs and senses as a source of knowledge. We only know that we exist because we think. “I think, therefore I am” is one of the most famous lines ever written. What I think about myself creates my identity.
John Locke (1632-1704)
Founder of modern empiricism who wrote Essay Concerning Human Understanding. He states that all knowledge results from empirical evidence – we are born with no preconceptions. Enlightened enquiry should replace dogmatism.
David Hume (1711-76)
Treatise on Human Nature. Human nature has always been essentially the same, including positive and negative qualities. The past does not necessarily predict the future – this is only our belief system. We create the world we in which we dwell (mentally). Commitment to inflexible principles leads to dogma and intolerance.
Adam Smith (1723-90)
The Wealth of Nations. The spread of commerce gives rise to a division of labor and greater efficiency, including the use of labor saving machinery. This supposedly leads to greater prosperity at all levels of society. Commerce therefore promotes liberty. Competition results in benefits to everyone. Adam Smith knew, by observing the abuses of the Industrial Revolution that he saw around him, that his theory was about a hoped-for state of the future. He also warned that over-concentration of wealth in a few hands could lead to a stifling of the economy because of fewer customers for manufactured products.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
The Social Contract (a concept also discussed by Locke and others) stated that the authority for government lies with the people, who have given up some personal freedoms to live in society, but that this authority can be revoked. “…the people are the sovereign in every state, and…their rights are inalienable.” This is very close to the language used by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. According to Leo Damrosch in Jean-Jacque Rousseau, Restless Genius, Rousseau believed in “…voluntary commitment to the good of the community. The idea was to give people a reason to overcome their selfishness by sublimating their separate egos to a kind of collective ego.” (P 349)