When comparing documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists, one must consider the dates on which they were drafted upon along with the current state of American government. These two points are necessary when determining the reasoning behind why each document was drafted. The Declaration of Independence was the first of these three documents to be written and was used to establish that the citizens of the United States of America were free from the rule of Great Britain. The second of these documents to be written was the U.S. Constitution. Many of the articles in the Constitution derived from the ideas of basic human rights that Thomas Jefferson expressed should
“Given your definitions of religion and politics, where do you see parallels, and where do you see divergences, between the insights of King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and Sophocles’s Antigone?” When I look at King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and Sophocles’ Antigone, it is evident that concepts of religion and politics exist within these texts. Similarly, these pieces both contain elements, which I identify as my definitions of religion and politics. For example, King includes the rhetoric of religious figures (St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas) on the issues of just and unjust laws to justify non-violent law-breaking. In a similar way, this relates to my definition of the use of symbols and religious traditions, which shapes
When viewed under a feminist lens in Confessions, the most notable female character, Monica, risks losing her significance as a compassionate caregiver in Augustine’s life. In chapter three of Confessions, Augustine discusses Monica’s dream with the readers. After Monica tells Augustine of her dream of his perdition, Augustine recalls trying to twist Monica’s dream to ease her “downcast[ness]and daily floods of tears” (III.19). A modern feminist would have issues with Augustine’s description of Monica’s emotional energy, saying that she is entitled to her emotions, because she is his mother and deserves the utmost respect, regardless of her gender. Augustine’s indifferent attitude response to Monica when he “tried to twist [the dream’s] meaning”
• Thomas used Aristotle’s view of natural law to justify the authority of the Roman Catholic Church in political as well as religious matters. For the purpose of explaining the fundamental reasons of law he used Aristotle’s philosophy and added the use of an eternal ruler. John Locke • John Locke had a distinct influence on the writers of the American Constitution by advocating for human rights and liberty through democracy. In saying so, he believed that the mass majority of ordinary people can be capable of giving consent to their governor/ruler as opposed to the Monarch government. However if the ruler did not comply with the needs of the people, Locke believed that the public had the justified right to rebel.
Intro: The theodicy I choose to related to Night by Wiesel is Augustine’s idea of free will. Augustine's idea of free will can be defined as people given the choice to make decisions in their lives, that evil is the absence of some good and that God does not make decisions for us. All these aspects of of Augustine's theory can be viewed in several scenes of eveil?suffering portrayed in the novel Night.
He explains this by discussing the unjust law system. He states, “One may well ask, "How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" The answer is found in the fact that there are two types of laws: there are just laws, and there are unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "An unjust law is no law at all” (3). C. Claim about Reading 2 (state what is the claim that you will be making about your second reading)
and Aquinas both identify a 'higher law.' In "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," King refers to this higher law as "moral law" or the "law of God." Similarly, Aquinas uses the terms "natural law" and "eternal law." This 'higher law' takes precedence over human law. 'Higher law,' according to both King and Aquinas, comes from God and gives the universe its rational and moral order.
Locke's most important and influential political writings are contained in his Two Treatises on Government. The first treatise is concerned almost exclusively with refuting the argument that political authority was derived from religious authority. The second treatise contains Locke’s own constructive view of the aims and justification for civil government. According to Locke, the State of Nature, the natural condition of mankind, is a state of perfect and complete liberty to conduct one's life as one best sees fit, free from the interference of others. This does not mean, however, that it is a state of license: one is not free to do anything at all one pleases, or even anything that one judges to be in one’s interest.
On the Social Contract. Each of the philosophies discussed the purpose of government as well as which government was the most ideal. For Paine, government, is “a punisher,” in which society is ruled by in order to protect the properties of one’s natural rights (Paine 3). However, he defends a representative democracy as being the ideal. Likewise, John Locke also argues that governments protect the rights of man.
Albeit Aristotle and Locke lived 2,000 years apart, their periods in history were similar. Both eras were marked by wars, tyrannical figures, and political and social instability in ancient Greece and medieval England. However, there was one major difference in their epochs, religion. The Greeks practice polytheism, while Christianity was practiced in Europe during Locke’s time.
Augustine dedicated his life to Christ after reading the epistles of Paul. Original sin was a disputed topic for the Church and had many sides to it. Augustine’s argument about original sin disagreed with Pelagius’, a philosopher in the church. He argued that sin has been passed down from the start when Adam and Eve first ate from the tree of knowledge.
This state of nature was the conditions in which we lived before there were any political governments to rule over us and it described what societies would be like if we had no government at all. In this essay I will compare the opinions given by each philosopher regarding their understanding of the state and the law. I will also discuss how their theories have influenced our understanding of the law today. Thomas Hobbes – Regarding the State and Law Firstly I would like to begin my discussion with Thomas Hobbes.
Essay 1 Aristotle and John Locke both believe humans were not created to live alone but instead among other people of the same community. Humans are not independent beings, and those who live in isolation lack the purpose of life: becoming a citizen and exercising one 's full potential of human flourishing. According to Aristotle, the collective community or multitude of citizens coexisting with one another is happiness, whereas Locke believes that the collective community is protecting autonomy and property. Both philosophers believe that to become a citizen, one must contribute to politics with the intent of creating a better society for all. Aristotle and Locke however, have differing views on how a person accomplishes this.
He is beginning to realize that he has to change his ways in order to reach absolution. In the ninth book, Augustine shows how he was able to finally connect with God through his books and teachings. “I read on: Tremble and sin no more, and this moved me deeply, my God, because now I had learned to tremble from my past, so that in the future I might sin no more.” (Book IX, Section 4, Page 187) This shows that Augustine was finally able to find God through the readings of the Bible.
Everyone has a perspective of their own about the government whether it be good or bad. Ancient Greek philosopher Plato and English philosopher John Locke both discuss the topic of government in their literatures. In the Republic by Plato, Plato introduces this concept of a just city. In this city, he believes that the older and wisest person(s) should rule as they are very knowledgeable. Everyone is born innately different according to Plato.
