Freedom of knowledge
Johannes Gutenberg took the idea of printing by moveable type and turned it into a publishing system. In doing so he changed the world. If you told him in 1468 the year he died that the Bible he had published in 1455 would undermine the authority of the Catholic Church, power the Renaissance and the Reformation, enable the Enlightenment and the rise of modern science, create new social classes and even change our concept of childhood, he would have looked at you blankly. But there lives among us today a man who has done something similar, and survived to see the fruits of his work.
He is Tim Berners-Lee, and he conceived the system for turning the internet into a publishing medium. Just over 15 years ago on August 6, 1991, to be precise he released the code for his invention on to the internet. He called it the world-wide web, and had the inspired idea that it should be free so that anyone could use it.
(John Naughton, Observer published in New Zealand Herald, 21 August 2005, A8)
LIBERALISM: A POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
The Historical Context
15th 18th Century
The spread of literacy and printing
Freedom of thought and speech
Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties'. John Milton (1644) Areopagitica: A Speech for the Liberty on Unlicensed Printing
18th Century Enlightenment
the ideas of liberalism led to democratic politics
Enlightened intellectual periods
Greece in the 5th and 4th C BC
Cairo, Damascus, Constantinople, Baghdad A.D. 7-9th C
China and India at different times in the first millennium
Questions
Why didn't these periods of enlightenment produce democracy?
What else is needed to ensure that democracy becomes the political system?
Liberalism's Role
Expanding economy not sufficient
Democracy requires commitment to freedom of thought and to the toleration of that freedom
19th Century Classical Liberal ideals
(John Stuart Mill)
Social contract government
Parliamentary institutions
Citizenship
Freedom of speech and the press
Tolerance
Impartial law
Human rights
Merit and hard work rewarded
Reason not superstition
Individual freedom
Human agency
Public private division
Separation of church and state
Influential Writers
John Locke (1689) Second Treatise on Civil Government
limits to the authority of the ruler
Adam Smith (1776) An Inquiry into the Wealth of Nations
restrictions on government cause economic prosperity
John Stuart Mill (1869) On Liberty
The individual is sovereign
Alexis de Tocqueville (1833) Democracy in America
Civil society (1831) see Gustafson, pp16-7
The actions of individuals acting together for their own interests and in the interests of the community creates a workable relationship between individuals and society.
that knowledge is power and as an individual, a person can achieve anything they want if they put their mind to it. As a result, Douglass proved that knowledge at that time would eventually equal freedom, not only did he use that to his advantage but also started up Sunday school to teach his fellow slaves to spread the word that knowledge equals freedom. The major historical theme that was shown in this book and implemented throughout was freedom. It showed that anyone can obtain the freedom they
The philosopher Plato in his seminal work The Republic argues using Socrates as his vehicle in the allegory of the cave that knowledge and truth lead to freedom. Glaucon and Socrates enter into a discussion of a group of prisoners who can only see what is right in front of their faces. They are chained in a cave unable to move. Behind them in there is a fire and a group of puppeteers, their keeps, who use props: vessels, statues, puppets, and other objects to cast shadows on the wall in front of
endeavor, yet eventually sets himself on a path to freedom. Montag, the main character of F451, lives in a futuristic book-burning society, decides to read the forbidden books, and escapes from the society. In the three literary pieces, one common theme surfaces, “Knowledge, the key to understanding the
associated with Native American spirituality depicting the interconnectedness of all life. There is paradox within Emerson’s description of Fate. The first definition of Fate is that it is the "laws of the world". Laws are limits. Limits contrain freedom. To believe in Fate, then, is to sacrifice the liberty which Emerson defines as "the significance of the individual, the grandeur of d... ... middle of paper ... ...unknown and to put trust into something completly intangible. Accepting the idea
Freedom has been the cause of wars, political movements, and centuries of debate. The concept of freedom is simple. Freedom is the right to act, speak, or think without hindrance. In our contemporary society, the right to freedom is so basic and innate we struggle to even fathom life without our basic rights. However, less than 200 years ago slavery was legal in the United States. Slavery is the antithesis to freedom, depriving people of the most basic rights and placing them at the whim of their
convictions. The literary works of these authors that were published were revolutionary and impacted the views and ideas of those around them, making a large enough impact to still show importance to this day. An important idea they all contributed to was freedom and education. Although all these authors have similarities in pushing for a change in their society, they were initially driven by motives different from one another. Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz was born in the 17th century and passed away at the age
students’ mind, or should we give them freedom to think to study? In this modern developing society, students are more enthusiastic to learn freely and creatively. Kie Ho (2007) in his essay entitled, “We Should Cherish Our Children Freedom to Think,” delivers an extraordinary message- as expressed by the title. His message is that the schools and parents should teach students how to develop their creativities rather than trying to seal their heads with knowledge. I agree with Kie Ho because the true
free? Although many in the world consider themselves free, their freedom is often an illusion. Often people think they have freedom while in reality their freedom is only propaganda set up by their leaders. Oppressive governments often take advantage of their population’s ignorance to slowly increase control over the country and society. In Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451 and “Persepolis 2,” readers are shown the process by which freedom is lost so slowly that it goes unnoticed, and how eventually even
the development of well-rounded, analytical citizens. It takes a lack of knowledge and a growth of ignorance to foster mentality that doesn’t improve lifestyles or fortify freedoms. Epictetus, a Stoic philosopher, once linked education and sovereignty together by saying, “Only the educated are free.” His quote is strikingly valid, especially in the context of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Only those in possession of knowledge can be free as seen in Animal Farm when the animals demonstrate the incapacity
Autonomy in Determinism (1) ABSTRACT: There are good reasons for determinism — the option for pure freedom of will proves to be a non-tenable position. However, this collides with the everyday experience of autonomy. The following argument will attempt to show that determinism and autonomy are compatible. (1) A first consideration going back to MacKay makes clear that I myself cannot foresee in principle my own determination; hence fatalism has lost its grounds. (2) From the perspective of physical
Empiricism is the theory that knowledge evolves from sense experience and internal mental interaction, such as emotions and self reflection. An empiricist obtains their facts based on close observation and experiment, which is ultimately a use of an inductive thought process. For empiricists, facts precede theories. Most empiricists are impartial, as well as objective observers of facts. A main belief in empiricism is that no one person could obtain knowledge of the world unless they were to experience
their solid knowledge. There is no doubt that America has one of the top education systems in the world, otherwise, wouldn’t attract so many international students. From the article, “We Should Cherish Our Children 's Freedom to Think” by Kie Ho, he shows what he thinks about American education. He mainly states that American education is the most top in the world and is a country of innovation, because its system is more about let students “think” and less focus on “actual knowledge.” Although I
have a deeply satisfying sense of family and love. Brave New World suggests that the readers should seek freedom, knowledge, and love in their lives by producing humans in test tubes and simultaneously rendering family, marriage and love obsolete , removing religion and all prior knowledge of art and history humans would lose their nature and become like robots; emotionless and without freedom or independent thought. The pursuit of happiness is a long, treacherous road that is superficial and misguided
have sleep deprivation, and this limits the ability to learn, concentrate and gain knowledge. This further leads to stress, anxiety, depression and ultimately… Death. Having shorter school days could eliminate stress and anxiety. The average amount of sleep required for teens in 9-9 ½ hours, however most of us sleep for only 7-7 ½ hours. We go through enough as it is, and school on top of that restricts our freedom to discover other interests that are fulfilling and stimulating. Most teens these
similar or more different? Whose view of the self do you favor, and why? Hume is skeptical of personal identity. He’s skeptical of rationalism, of the ability of causes and effects to be known through our experiences, and argues that we don’t get knowledge of matters of fact through experience. He says that we are bundles of impressions. These impressions change as we have new experiences and perceptions, and are constantly changing. Hume doesn’t think that we have an enduring self. He doesn’t actually