Fall 1999, Section I
Reviewer Comments
The Evolution of
Thought:
Individualism and Natural Right in 17th
and 18th Century Europe
Over a period of time often limited by historical perspectives to the
17th and 18th centuries, people across Europe began
experiencing a movement characterized by a transfer of authoritative power away
from an oligarchic structure and toward a framework for modem democracy.
Historians have debated why such profound advances in government occurred,
often attributing much of the credit to the progressive ideals posited by the
philosophers of the day. Intent on stimulating thought in the way of human
progression, these political theorists based their own conclusions that there
was a need for government reformation on the same innate quality of man that
spawned his own cerebral renaissance. Further analysis of these thinkers,
coupled with the factual historical progression of the written word, leads to
the inescapable conclusion that the progressive movements of 17th
and 18th century Europe achieved success in the form of
constitutional fixation due to the intellectual, chronological, and
psychological growth of citizens.
Throughout the course of European history, the discriminatory oppression
by way of social class distinctions had accompanied a rigid, highly controlled
system of government. whether people of the day fell subject to the
jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, a monarchy, or a combination thereof, the
natural state of man, which theorists like John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau
claimed was to be free, was often disallowed by the structure of society. Even
as elitist government began to lose power to mercantilists and capitalist
families, control remained in the selective hands of the few.
Spawned by this state of oppression, a state that many philosophers
argued man was naturally destined to reject, people began to seek ways to break
these chains. Personified by Johann Gutenberg in 1456, man chose communication
and the printed word as the avenue through which he would express his
progressive thought. As confirmed by Eugene F. Rice, Jr. and Anthony Grafton,
an invention such as the printing press "forces us to realize that an
invention is in any case not the creation of an individual, as is a poem or a
painting, but a social product."1 The results of the printing
press included the publication of six million books over a less than fifty-year
period.2 The increase in printing not only cheapened and facilitated
the mass production of literature, but also allowed citizens previously
incapable of obtaining books, let alone reading them, the opportunity to learn.
Accompanying a more literate society was a new and powerful communal change -
the advent of public opinion.3 The more widely available knowledge
became, the more examination of previously accepted doctrines was made common.
Through these examinations, notable advancements were achieved in science,
literature, art, and philosophy. The 14th century author Dante
Alighieri, whose theological and political epic The Divine Comedy was
published in Italian to better its chance of being perused by citizens outside
the aristocracy, found himself a forerunner to the notion that printed words
could be a powerful equalizer, possibly bridging the growing gap between upper
and lower class. By the close of the 17th century, revolutionary and
courageous educational developments had been offered by the likes of
Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, and Shakespeare - each defying the authority of
church
This prevalent notion that natural man was capable of achieving greater
status than had to that point been experienced, fostered the politically
revolutionary philosophies of three, historically exalted men. The first of
these men to offer a thesis regarding man's ordained role in society was
English writer, Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679). Hobbes seemingly combined his theory
that man must be controlled in order to prevent him from acting upon his
instinctive desires and passions, with an openly supportive view of science and
experimentation. Hobbes professed the need to explore new ideas and was a great
proponent of education. Unlike future political ideologists however, Hobbes
chose not to affiliate the search for knowledge with individual freedom from
authority. On the contrary, Hobbes somewhat contradicts his belief in the need
for individual education by ideally subjecting all citizens to the jurisdiction
of a sovereign authority. The motivation to muddle his theory by linking the
exploration of individual advancement with the oppression of freedom might stem
from his own fear of the church and monarchy. whatever the case, Hobbes
provided the foundation and springboard on which other political theses
penetrated the previously discussed entity of public opinion.
The second, and arguably most touted political philosopher of the time,
was John Locke (1632-1704). In Locke's Second Treatise on Government,
the former advocate of Hobbes established a relationship between government and
society based on the major principle that successful government cannot operate
as anything less than the facilitator of the public's well-being. Locke managed
to emphasize four main points, without which he argued, authoritative power
could not flourish. The first stated that government could not establish laws
that discriminated based on social status. Second, only laws "designed for
the good of the people" can be enforced. Third, taxes cannot be assessed
or altered without the "consent of the people." Fourth, the governing
body cannot transfer authority to any entity except those controlled by the
original society.
Locke further argued that when a government abused its power, it
forfeited all authority due to its breach of the social contract. Elaborating
on this issue, Locke submitted ideas regarding the necessity of revolution in
society, choosing to rely on two main points. First, revolutionary action need
not be taken based on mistakes or innate "human frailty." Second,
when a government demonstrates abuse of power through force, intimidation, or
the prevarication of public statutes, they become the "rebels" by
violating the social contract. At such an instance, it is society's right to
reclaim its government in a mold determined to be most beneficial to the good of
the public.4 Locke's theories transcended the established
"truths" dealing with human nature and the power to, not only improve
one's position in life, but establish a system of self-rule so fundamentally
based that it could accomplish nothing but the growth and will of the
individual. He believed in the innate decency of man, postulating that humans
begin life with a brain comparable to a blank slate. Personalities and
subsequent behavior are thus the byproduct of environmental surroundings which,
under Locke's proposed political system, protected the individual and nurtured
greater intellect and discovery.
Utilizing to his advantage a prior knowledge of both the political
ideas of Hobbes and Locke, French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
opened his essay, The Social Contract (1762) with the famous proclamation,
"man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains."5 Rousseau
believed the only way a man can be free is by submitting all of his natural
rights to the good of society. In a philosophy that almost refuted the growing
popularity of individualism and humanism, Rousseau professed a belief in the
potential of society to progress through the diligent cooperation of its
citizens. In other words, man alone was incapable of making a viable
contribution to society. However, society as an entity comprised of individual
units developing together is capable of revolutionary advancement.
The theories offered by these and other political ideologists of the 17th
and 18th centuries added to the continuing search for human
advancement. The increased sense of self-worth, led to a growing paranoia and
mistrust of the newly "uncovered" abuses of monarchical and clerical
power. Sparking the flame of passion within a social class and society long
oppressed by illiteracy and financial inadequacy, a period of revolution led to
the establishment of ideally more representative constitutional governing
Systems. In England, the discussions of human nature, along with the
well-publicized success of modernistic investigators like Newton and Locke,
established a confidence through which the social unrest surrounding the
English Revolution of 1688 concluded with The Declaration of Right
(February, 1689). Although often vague and cumbersome, the new English
government, which The Declaration of Right facilitated, produced through
its duality of monarchy and parliament, a stable, successful nation.6 This
success was widely viewed as a reaffirmation of the growing progressive ideals
of human nature. Such affirmation aided in the confidence and feasibility of
the French Revolution of 1789, an event which demanded the establishment of the
Declaration of the Rights of Man. Responding in part to what it viewed as the
monarchical oppression of Louis XVI, France violently overthrew its government
and established a constitution primarily utilizing the philosophies of its
native Rousseau. Divided into seventeen articles, the Declaration secured
individual rights and avowed the innate equality of men. The document further
attempted to define liberty as the "freedom to do everything which injures
no one else," and secure basics rights regarding a judicial system and
freedom of speech.7 While the success of this document from a
historical perspective is questionable, it no doubt reflected a summation of
humanistic progressive thought which had expanded in popularity throughout the
time period.
The development of political theory based on individualism and natural
rights resulted from the scientific advancement and growing sense of
self-worth, both byproducts of a heightened importance in education and
accelerating literacy. These chronological advancements can each be linked
backward, to the development of movable type and the subsequent surplus of
literature and audiences. Without these events, reflection and examination of
natural rights would more than likely have remained repressed and subservient
to the overbearing supremacy of established power.
1
Anthony Grafton
and Eugene R Rice, Jr., The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559
(WW Norton and Co., 1994)1
2 Ibid 7
3 Donald Kagan, Steven Ozment, and Frank M
Turner, The Western Heritage, Volume II Since 1648 (Prentice Hall, 1998) 611
4 Locke, John. "Second Treatise on
Government."
5 Roussaeu, Jean-Jacques. "The Social
Contract, 1762." http://www.forham.edu/halsall/mod/rousseau-contract2.html
(September 29, 1999).
6 Kagan, 610-611
7 "The Avalon Project: The Declaration of
the Rights of Man - 1789."
Bibliography
Buckler, John, and
Bennett D. Hill, and John P. McKay, A History of Western Society: Volume I:
From Antiquity to the Enlightenment. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987.
Grafton, Anthony,
and Eugene F. Rice, Jr., The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559.
WW Norton and Co., 1994.
Kagan, Donald, Steven Ozment, and Frank M. Turner, The
Western Heritage, Volume II Since 1648. Prentice Hall, 1998.
Locke, John. "Second Treatise on
Government." http://campus.northpark.edu/histor…ses/Sources/Locke-2ndTreaties.html
(October 6, 1999).
MacPherson,
C.B., The
Political Theory of Possessive Individualism: Hobbes to Locke. Oxford
University Press, 1962.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. "The Social Contract, 1762." http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/rousseau-contract2.html (September 29, 1999).