Critical Synthesis of the Evolution of Political Philosophy

Critical Synthesis of the Evolution of Political Philosophy

Introduction

            Having read the political and philosophical ideas of many philosophers in the early and modern ears of politics up to and including Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rosseau and Mary Wollstonecraft, one is in a position to be politically informed. While appreciating the works of each and every single individual, it is important to acknowledge that there is a lot to learn both positively and negatively. This is to say that political philosophy comes with their strengths and limitations going by what most philosophers have opined (Hampton, 2018). While they all reserve their rights to hold their opinions, it is up to us the target audience to discern between what is good and what is not, what is helpful and what needs some tweaking to be politically correct in this modern world. That being said, assignment 4 seeks to take a critical analysis of the content of the named philosophers and make a crucial synthesis about them, along the lines of their weaknesses and strengths in terms of authority and power as well as the relation of an individual to a given community.

Strengths

Champions for Change

            Political philosophy, as has been written by the early philosophers, seems to be on the forefront in championing for change for a better political experience (Hampton, 2018). In his theory of social contract, Jean-Jacques Rosseau acknowledges that indeed man was born free, but wherever he is he is in chain. This from a lay man’s interpretation levels points to the fact that although each and every person was born a free person, to say the least, the governments that they entered into a social contract with exercise sovereignty over its people in a rather harsh way characterized by inequalities and injustices, with the interests of the ruling classes being personal rather than of goodwill.

Jean-Jacques Rosseau champions for change in political systems through the invoking of the social contract. In this, he alludes to the fact that the governed need to come up with a political system that would spearhead change and protect the rights of the citizens for a better world to live in tomorrow. By so doing, the personal interests and the individual wills of the ruling class are done away with and are substituted with political goodwill and the interests of all people (Rosseau, 1994). This has taken a good toll on many democratic countries today, where political systems have been established to serve the interests of all people.

Champions for the Rights of People in a Society

            Political philosophers have been in the forefront championing for the inherent rights of all humans (Hampton, 2018). Human rights are the unifying factor between the Church and the State in any given country, and also the unifying factor between the liberals and the third world revolutionaries. According to Martin Luther King Jr, a political philosopher who came way late after the likes of Hobbes and Locke, the perceived thought that power and morality are pitted against the question of sovereignty and human rights should be quashed. In his days, Martin Luther was treated to a society where human rights were non-existent. A society that was characterized by slavery and servitude ion the part of the people of colour in America, at a time racial discrimination had taken centre stage in the entirety of the continent (Hampton, 2018).

Political philosophers have thus helped debunk the theory that human rights are only for the elite because the French Declaration of Human Rights stated categorically that all men are born free and equal, and thus no one should discriminate against another on the basis of things such as race, colour, sex among others (Hampton, 2018). It is for the same reason that the social contract theory, advanced by at least three known political philosophers in the form of Hobbes, Locke and Rosseau, sprouted giving rise to a political society that is organize and recognizes a ruling class which it trades its civil rights to vote in exchange for the protection of rights such as that of property and more so of life (Locke, 1982).

Fights for the place of Women in the Society

            Political philosophers have equally been on the limelight, leading the fight for equality for women (Hampton, 2018). The ancient world in the eighteenth century was characterized by a society that had no recognition of women. Women were viewed as lesser beings in comparison to men, something that did not augur well with philosophers such as Mary Wollstonecraft. As a matter of fact, Rosseau is said to have demeaned women in his books, to the extent that he once opined that women are just important to when it comes to reproduction, the sole role they play in the society. Women never went to school; neither were they given equal opportunities to men to be it in the economic world or the political world (Rousseau, 1994).

This was an issue that threw the world in a contentious debate when a section of women began to champion for their liberation. Mary Wollstonecraft was the leader in this debate in charting a future for women at a time that economic patterns in Europe were working to the detriment of women. In her ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Women’ she said that women ought to have been given an equal opportunity economically and politically as is accorded to men. She led the line in deploring the condition of women of her days, who according to her, were meant to be child-like, self-involved, naïve and irrational (Wollstonecraft, 1999).  Other women joined her in this fight, and the results speak volumes today, as women in Europe have been seen to have taken leadership positions as early as in the 20^th century, say Margaret Thatcher for example.

Limitations

            In as much as there is positivity to derive from what modern philosophers championed for in their writings, there is negativity that came along with it in equal measure (Hampton, 2018).

Demeaning Women

            It is quite disheartening to learn that a section of philosophers though all informed and elite were constantly demeaning women and actually preaching inequality. Such is Jean-Jacques Rosseau who was at the forefront in trying to convince the world that women were actually lesser beings. He claimed that it is by nature that to be subservient and subordinate to men, setting him as the odd one out of al, the other known philosophers. In his ‘Emile’, he excludes women in totality, championing for education for the ideal man in exclusion of the woman (Sophie). He alleges that women are subordinate in the institution of marriage and the family, and her role is limited to procreation (Rousseau, 1994). In the political discourse as well, Rosseau held that a woman could never and should never hold a position of leadership, saying that although all men are born free, they are not equal.

This paints a picture of a man who was inciteful against women in the society and that whichever man that paid keen attention to him and heeded to his words had no regard for women. Rosseau further departs from other philosophers in his claims that a woman may control the direction the strength of a man takes through her charm and curves but only within the confines of a role she plays as a sex partner that gives joy to a man. He further alleged in his writing that in the event of decision making where there are divergent opinions, the opinion of the man overrides (Rousseau, 1994). This is to say that a woman actually has no say. To say that a man reserves the right to chastise a woman if she commits a wrong is to say that women are likened to children and can never be anything more than that. These sentiments were met with sharp criticism by feminists who critiqued Rosseau in the strongest terms possible.

Downplays Religion

            The fact that Thomas Hobbes held the opinion that authority vested upon leaders comes from the people and not God pitted him against religious people who were convinced that leadership is ordained by God. In his attempt to dismiss the opinion Filmer on leadership and God, Hobbes took a step that threw the world in limbo, sparking raging debates among Christians and in particular the clergy. This is to say that as a philosopher, Thomas Hobbes never subscribed to religion, to say the least (Hobbes, 1998). Many hold the opinion that this idea diluted all the wise words that he had written in all his other books.

Conclusion

            To warp it up, it goes without saying that early and early modern philosophers took a toll on the politics of today’s world. In as much as there is a lot to borrow from their ideas, there is equally much to dismiss from their ideas. Save for the demeaning of women in the society and downplaying or religion by Jean-Jacques and Thomas Hobbes respectively, there is much to take home on the issue of human rights and the need for a good governance that is driven by the goodwill of the ruling class.

References

Hampton, J. (2018). Political philosophy. Routledge.

Hobbes, Thomas. (1998). The leviathan or the matter, forme, & power of a common-wealth ecclesiasticall and civill [ebook version]. Hamilton, ON: McMaster University Archive of the History of Economic Thought. Retrieved from http://0-site.ebrary.com.aupac.lib.athabascau.ca/lib/athabasca/detail.action?docID=2001972

Locke, John. (1982). Second treatise of government: An essay concerning the true original, extent and end of civil government [ebook version]. Richard Cox (Ed.). Somerset, US: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://0-site.ebrary.com.aupac.lib.athabascau.ca/lib/athabasca/detail.action?docID=10931969

Rousseau, Jean–Jacques. (1994). Discourse on political economy and the social contract (C. Betts, Trans.) [ebook version]. Cary, GB: Oxford Paperbacks. Retrieved from http://0-site.ebrary.com.aupac.lib.athabascau.ca/lib/athabasca/detail.action?docID=10485520

Wollstonecraft, Mary. (1999). A vindication of the rights of woman [ebook version]. Oxford: Oxford Paperbacks. Retrieved from http://0-site.ebrary.com.aupac.lib.athabascau.ca/lib/athabasca/reader.action?docID=10464196&ppg=8&ticket=ST-460521-hiHRCcoWpBreYCI6VCb2-cas