ipl-logo

Thoreau On Civil Disobedience

1359 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Civil disobedience by thoreau essay

Active Participant Through Pacifist Disobedience Thoreau's, “On Civil Disobedience”, emphasizes the significant roles that authenticity and activism play in one’s life, which encourage action and renounce determinism. By presenting the main ideas that arise from this essay, I will argue that Thoreau, along with Locke’s Treatise of Government, exhibits ideas affiliated with Libertarianism. In contrast to the belief that a priori knowledge is the only kind of knowledge that expresses certainty about ontological truths, which is independent of external experience, Transcendentalism advances the idea that there is also an internal a priori kind of knowledge which is reliable and expresses each individual’s truth. According to the book, American …show more content…

Libertarianism holds that since individual truth is significant for each one, then in a democratic society where the majority rules, there is always going to be a violation of the minority’s truth, and therefore they advocate that individuals should always stick up for themselves, even if their opinions are contrasted to the opinion that the majority holds. Moreover, Libertarianism promotes as little government intervention as possible, since they do not trust the idea that a powerful group will be allowed to determine what is right and what is wrong, and impose those beliefs on others. As long as one does not harm others, Libertarianists think people should live life the way they want to, according to their personal set of beliefs and …show more content…

Thoreau protests in an active way on the one hand, since he renounces the government’s law of taxation, but he does so in a non violent manner. This is precisely why the essay is called “Civil Disobedience”. Libertarianism, hence, advocates individuals to be just towards themselves and towards others by not harming them, to be active by living life consciously, and lastly, it advocates free will versus determinism, since people are free to make their own decisions which are based on their own personal sets of beliefs; “a wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority”. (page 777) In an imaginary society where people would simply confirm to the government’s rules and laws without taking any stand, one could argue that those individuals have no free will and therefore are deterministically bound to obey the government. Thoreau strongly rejects to this sort of passivity and says “ I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion”. (page

Show More
Related
897 Words | 4 Pages

Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience heavily criticizes the government for being too corrupt and also argues that the people have the right to refuse allegiance to the State. Because the government is unjust and corrupt, Thoreau calls for a change in how the government operates rather than abolishing the government entirely. Thoreau’s idea of a better government is a government that governs the least. This claim is elaborated as Thoreau states in his essay that the individuals with consciences should rule instead of the government officials that lack said consciences. For example, in part 1 paragraph 4, he mocks individuals such as soldiers and privates for showing respect to the government through marching admirably because they are going

Read More
759 Words | 4 Pages

The essay “Civil Disobedience” is about the individuals facing the society they live in, as well as the fight against injustice. Thoreau says in his essay, “I think we should be men first, and subjects afterwards” (392). Thoreau says that they should act as citizens of a community before they act as subjects of the government as well as society. Thoreau also states that, “The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to so at any time what I think is right” (392). This means that at any point in time, as long as the individual does what he believes is right, society’s (as well as government, in this case) standards do not apply.

Read More
676 Words | 3 Pages

Thoreau believes that an individual who acts with fairness, righteousness, and moral integrity has the ability to make a positive impact and influence societal change. heavily influenced by Gandhi's principles, expands on nonviolent civil disobedience as a collective and organized approach to challenge unjust laws and societal norms. He stresses the importance of direct action, peaceful protests, and that the power of love can overcome hate. Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" laid the groundwork for later civil rights movements, and its ideas on individual conscience and nonviolent resistance inspired people like Gandhi and King.

Read More
422 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout history there have been many political changes that are either supported, or not, by citizens. In the given passage from, "Civil Disobedience," by Thoreau, a perspective of disagreeing with the government ways, is provided. Thoreau explains how a government should be in comparison to how it really is by utilizing his words to set the tone and mode, imagery to achieve his audience's understanding, and diction to make his writing scholarly. Although tone and mode are not directly stated, you can infer that Thoreau meant for his writing to be taken as serious and powerful. His implementation of words such as, "inexpedient," "execute," " integrity," and "command," makes one think about their lawful rights and reflect on what rights are supported or

Read More
2124 Words | 9 Pages

Mr. Thoreau argues that people should not allow any government to control or atrophy their thoughts or beliefs. Mr. Thoreau was an also remained a devoted abolitionist and has written

Read More
1102 Words | 5 Pages

As society faced great inequities in the 19th and 20th centuries, activists and philosophers sought to inform the general public. At the turn of the 19th century, Thoreau presented his writing of a "Civil Disobedience" as an argument of the injustices of the tyrannical government after spending a night in jail. Likewise, Martin Luther King Jr. presented his argument to society as he was jailed in 1963. In his "Letter from Birmingham Jail," King perceives the injustice of the African American community as a primary goal as to the need for the advocation of the whole population. Whereas in Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," it addresses the injustices in broader terms and stresses the despotic government.

Read More
546 Words | 3 Pages

No matter how much the nation progresses, there will always be times where civil disobedience is desirable. When there is good, there will be evil; and we must recognize when to act against it. The idea of civil disobedience is still applied today through the influence of Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr., as society will be constantly going against government ideals. Thoreau’s position on civil disobedience is that he believes breaking laws is necessary towards a government with unjust laws. He believes in having a better government that does not control and abuse the people; being “at best but an expedient” (Thoreau 240).

Read More
154 Words | 1 Pages

Throughout Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience,” it is evident that his stance on wealth is firm. He believes that “the rich man…is always sold to the institution which makes him rich” (Thoreau 9). The rich are said to be the ones less likely to practice civil disobedience because they have conformed to the government, prospering under it. On the other hand, Thoreau is not entirely hateful towards the wealthy. He explains that “the best thing a man can do for his culture when he is rich is to endeavor to carry out those schemes which he entertained when he was poor” (Thoreau 10).

Read More
897 Words | 4 Pages

He objected the injustices of war and slavery, and practiced civil disobedience in his daily life. In the time of Thoreau writing Civil Disobedience, many people believed revolution against the government had not been necessary since the time of the American Revolution. However, Thoreau believes that resisting an abusive government is especially important at this point in time considering that, "a sixth of the population of a nation which has undertaken to be the refuge of liberty are slaves, and a whole country is unjustly overrun and conquered by a foreign army, and subjected to military law." According to Thoreau, it is the duty of American citizens to promptly revolutionize against slavery and the Mexican-American War, which have both been supported by the corrupted American

Read More
673 Words | 3 Pages

The key to deconstructing Thoreau's argument is to understand his hierarchy of government and the individual. Thoreau's ideal communion between the individual and the state is manifest by the individual as a "higher and independent power". This relationship is entertained in Civil Disobedience in the analysis of Thoreau's 1846 imprisonment, in which Thoreau demonstrated freedom as an internal and subjective

Read More
1392 Words | 6 Pages

Race Hudson English 11A DPS Synthesis Paper 31 January 2023 Transcendentalism In The Dead Poets Society And Civil Disobedience “You must trust that your beliefs are unique, your own, even though others may think them good or unpopular” (Dead Poets Society). Transcendentalism is an intellectual movement that emphasized the dignity of the individual and advocates a simple mindful life. A paper written by Henry David Thoreau called “Civil Disobedience” talks about how your thoughts and ideas are stronger than a higher power’s beliefs and that you should follow your thought and ideas instead of following the herd. We, as a society, are still talking about this later on since it is an important belief everyone should consider in their lives since

Read More
888 Words | 4 Pages

Their goal is to have the law changed or completely abolished (Starr). Henry David Thoreau’s involvement in civil disobedience was due to personal influences, he chose to participate in civil disobedience to protest taxes he viewed as unfair and unnecessary, and he did achieve personal success using this controversial method of standing up for what he strongly believes to be right. However, there were no public changes made due to his act of civil disobedience (About Thoreau). Having knowledge of Henry Thoreau’s personal life if a necessity to fully understand and realize the impact of his act of civil disobedience. Thoreau was

Read More
598 Words | 3 Pages

To protect the freedoms of expressing individualism, Thoreau actively supported civil disobedience. In his essay, "Resistance to Civil Government", Thoreau expresses his strong belief that the “mind is the only reality, of which all other natures are better or worse reflectors” (Schneider). Henry David Thoreau understands that the only true reality is what is anticipated by one’s own individual perspective and that no other force may demonstrate one’s ideas without outward forcefulness.

Read More
1041 Words | 5 Pages

By using nonviolence, goals can be achieved without a price having to be paid. In addition, Henry David Thoreau stated his encouragement of the nonviolence aspect of civil disobedience in “from Civil Disobedience. He believed the president was too quick to encourage war and that if a discussion had taken place between Mexico and America, a war could have been prevented. In his disapproval, Thoreau refused to pay his taxes and spent a night in jail only to write “Civil Disobedience”. No where in “Civil Disobedience” does Thoreau encourage violence to reform the government.

Read More
1464 Words | 6 Pages

Thoreau 's “On Civil Disobedience”, published in 1849, promotes the idea that people have an obligation towards their moral values, and thus they must stand up for those values, even if those are opposed to the government. Thoreau emphasizes the significant roles that authenticity and activism play in one’s life, which encourage action and renounce determinism. By presenting the central ideas that arise from this essay, I will argue that Thoreau, supported by Locke’s Treatise of Government, exhibits ideas affiliated with Libertarianism. In contrast to the hypothesis that a priori knowledge is the only kind of knowledge that expresses certainty about ontological truths, independent of external experience, Transcendentalism advances the idea that there is also an internal a priori kind of knowledge which is reliable and expresses each individual’s truth.

Read More

More about Thoreau On Civil Disobedience

Open Document