Declaration of the Rights of Man

Interpretations 

1.  All men are equal and classes may set up for the common good.

2. The goal of politics are to preserve the rights of liberty, property, security, and resistance to abuse.

3. Power can only come from the nation as a whole.

4. Liberty is the freedom to do whatever as long as it doesn't violate another's same rights. these limits are determined by the government.

5. Law can only stop things that hurt society and no one can be forced to do anything not in the laws.

6. Every citizen has a right to participate in law making and those rights are to be equal no matter what. Also, any man can earn any position based upon his abilities and not distinction. 

7. No person shall be punished for anything except what is law. Also, any person who breaks a law will be prosecuted swiftly.

8. The law will provide for punishments as necessary and no one will be punished by any means not set up by law.

9. All men are innocent until proven guilty so any abuse not essential to their arrest will not be accepted by law.

10. All men are allowed religious freedom as long as it doesn't disturb the safety of the public

11. All men have the right to freedom of expression, but shall be held responsible if they abuse that power.

12. Military forces are required to ensure the safety of the people and are not to be used for personal gain by its leaders.

13. Taxes are essential to ensure that the government runs smoothly and will be assessed equally based upon the means of the payers.

14. Citizens are allowed the right to represent their desire for proper taxation.

15. People have the right ask for an account of a public agent's administration.

16. A society where laws are not enforced or powers are not separated has no constitution at all

17. No man shall be deprived of his property except for public safety or if the law says so and only if the owner has been notified ahead of time.

In the picture above, the artist is depicting the document as a supreme declaration by painting the doctrine as if it is descending from heaven. To further help this idea, the artist has painted an angel in the upper right to represent the document's divinity and push the idea that god wanted this to be so. The artist has also added a person holding what appears to be a chain to represent reason and to go along with the enlightenment ideals that are taking hold at this time.

"Common Sense"

1. "In order to gain a clear and just idea of the design and end of government, let us suppose a small number of persons settled in some sequestered part of the earth, unconnected with the rest; they will then represent the first peopling of any country, or of the world. In this state of natural liberty, society will be their first thought. A thousand motives will excite them thereto; the strength of one man is so unequal to his wants, and his mind so unfitted for perpetual solitude, that he is soon obliged to seek assistance and relief of another, who in his turn requires the same."
In this section, Paine is actually describing a scenario much like that of the American Colonists. He states that if people settle in far off regions of the earth, they represent a new country. He also states that these people will be free and will first set up a society. This description enlightened the American people because they saw in as an allusion to themselves. When they saw their situation from an outside point-of-view they realized that they should not have to to follow British rule since they were so far away.


2. "Here then is the origin and rise of government; namely, a mode rendered necessary by the inability of moral virtue to govern the world; here too is the design and end of government, viz. Freedom and security. And however our eyes may be dazzled with show, or our ears deceived by sound; however prejudice may warp our wills, or interest darken our understanding, the simple voice of nature and reason will say, 'tis right"
In this section, Paine is talking about the origin of government. He states that government arises when the sense of right and wrong are no longer powerful enough to keep a country in check. He describes the design of government as freedom and security and states that this will be right no matter what "show" is put on by its critics. This rallied the American people because they saw the moral virtues in the colonies disappear as a result of British rule. As soon as revolutionaries began boycotting and starting riots, the Americans were in need of a new form of government.


3. "The Sun never shined on a cause of greater worth. 'Tis not the affair of a City, a County, a Province, or a Kingdom; but of a Continent — of at least one-eighth part of the habitable Globe. 'Tis not the concern of a day, a year, or an age; posterity are virtually involved in the contest, and will be more or less affected even to the end of time, by the proceedings now. Now is the seed-time of Continental union, faith and honour."
In this section, Paine goes on to describe how important this revolution is. He sates that this is the most important cause the world has ever seen and describes the magnitude of the cause as not that of a city or province, but of an entire continent. He also states how the effects of this revolution will not last a day or year, but will go on until the end of time. This was big news to the Americans' because it made them realize the grand scale of what was going on. They were fighting for a continent many times larger than the island that was controlling them. They also rallied at the fact that this cause would be long lasting and ultimately meaningful for eons to come.

Resource: http://www.ushistory.org/paine/commonsense/singlehtml.htm

Kant's Enlightenment

1. To Kant, freedom is the expression of one's ideas in a public manner and in all aspects of life.

2. Kant believes freedom is central to enlightenment because freedom allows, "...man's emergence from self-imposed immaturity..."(6th P). He also believes that once a man is free of immaturity he will be able to, "...apply understanding confidently to religious issues."(5th P).

3. Kant believes that people become enlightened by breaking the chains that is permanent immaturity set upon them by so called "guardians" that speak of only the dangers of enlightenment. He also believes that the ideal environment to accomplish this is the one that has rules and formulas that aid his natural gifts, not damper them.

4. Kant connects enlightenment with politics by stating that if a head of state becomes enlightened then his realizes that there is no danger in letting people decide government. He also states that if a ruler is enlightened and has a large enough army to ensure public peace, that he can allow his people to debate about government.

The Roman Republic

1. Consul and President

In the Roman Republic, the consul had many of the same powers as our President does today. First, the were both elected into the office and both served relatively short terms compared to the senators. Next, both hold the power of commander in chief during times of war and held administrative, judicial, and municipal powers during times of peace. Finally and most importantly they both held the power to veto.

2. Aedile and Mayors 

In the Roman Republic, the office of Aedile was very comparable to todays local office of mayors. Aedile were responsible for the maintenance of public buildings and regulate public festivals. Mayors in various cities are also responsible for both of these jobs and are often seen at these festivals or passing city ordinances to fix problems with public areas of the city. Finally and most important, both of these offices hold the power over public safety such as the event of a riot or other situation that requires authority.

3. Praetors and the Joint Chiefs of Staff

In the Roman Republic, Praetors were often military leaders that held some diplomatic power, or were just diplomats. In the military sense they compare rather nicely to today's Joint Chiefs of Staff that are also top military leaders that are involved in some diplomatic procedures.  

4. Senate

In the Roman Republic, the Senate shared many similarities with our Senate, but also many differences. The first difference I could find was that the Roman Senate was presided over by a consul, while the U.S. Senate is not presided over by a significant official that compares to a consul. The second difference was that the Roman Senate could meet anywhere inside or outside of the city while the U.S. Senate meets in the same place every time.

Pericles Speech

1. According to Pericles, Athens was made great not by one thing, but by everything working together in a system of government that benefited everyone and not just a particular class. Pericles states that their democratic administration gives power to the whole people and not just a few. He goes on to describe how Athens also has a better army than that of Sparta because they do not exploit their allies like Sparta does, and they have a superior navy as well.

2. Other city-states would obviously boast that their city-state is better than all the rest for various reasons. Be that as it may, Athens compares to Sparta in many ways. First they both have systems of governments that worked during this time, and although these system were different, Athens being a democracy and Sparta being Lacedaemonian, they both satisfied the demands. Next, both city-states had exceptional military forces and both were used effectively against the Persians. At the time of Pericles's speech, these two city-states were at war with each other which was like watching Ali fight Fraizer but with a Greek twist.

3. Throughout Pericles's description of Athens, he is very single-minded in his argument that Athens is a paragon for all of Greece. Be that as it may, it is understandable that an Athenian speaking to the loved ones of dead soldiers would be very nostalgic towards everything that has made Athens a powerful polis in ancient Greece. Therefore, I do not see any problems that are worth pointing out.

Notes

Plato

• Descendant of kings and other royalty
• Aristocrat for his whole life
• Mother married Pericles
• Socrates was his teacher
• Plato left Greece but then came back
• Founded the Academy which was a really good school
• He lived off of other's good will
• Wrote a bunch of books but the Republic was most famous
• Told the true story of Atlantis and created the idea of Hell
• Talked about the state and individual
• 3 parts of classes from lowest to highest: Desired, Spirited, and the Rational
• People need to be ruled by Rational
• Education determines class
• Leaders should be deprived of private life to focus on civil affairs

Aristotle

• Most Famous Greek philosopher and scientist
• Came to Athens at 17 and went to the Academy
• Was so smart Plato made him a teacher
• When Plato died Aristotle couldn't go home because his house had been sacked
• Went to Asia Minor aka Persia
• After his King friend died he went to Pella for some reason
• Became Alexander's personal tutor
• Ya, that Alexander
• Alexander conquered the known world and Aristotle went back to Greece
• Founded his school named Lyceum
• something about esoteric and exoteric
• Wrote 170 texts because he had nothing better to do i guess
• Thought about Geocentricity
• No evolution in his mind
• Did Psychology and Ethics
• He believed you either had moral values or intellectual values

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