It is actually fascinating to observe how throughout history homo sapiens organizes his community. To simplify the picture: there always is a group of people, who get the best part of the pie.
And then there is a large majority that gets some of the pie or only the crumbs. However, what they have in common is the will to survive.
History told us the story of Greek city-states, where proud people refused to live as slaves of a tyrant, so they claimed their political freedom,
which meant that everybody had the right to participate in the government of their society. What later admirers of this wonder of democracy used to overlook
was that this "everybody" was in fact just a select part of the community, mainly men born in the city itself. Not women, servants, immigrants, slaves or poor people.
Here we have the quintessential problem of democracy. Those Greek city-states must have been more or less small communities, at least to some extent not too complex, so easy to handle.
The next stage in our consideration is the question of Hobbes or Rousseau. Is man a selfish monster or just good by nature?
In other words, on what do we base the principles of organization of our society? Are there only a few well minded, intelligent and good people who know what is best for the masses,
or should we listen to what the majority of the people want as the ruling principle of their society?
Eventually, let's say a 2000 years after the Greeks started the debate it has resulted in the brilliant definitions of freedom,
being the definition, that freedom for the citizen means that he can live his life in peace and enjoy his wealth and properties, that is "civil freedom",
regardless actually of who or what is in power, and the other definition being of "political freedom", which means that every citizen must have a say in who is in power and to what extent.
In the previous lectures, we have seen how well the contra-revolutionaries did with their propagating of civil freedom.
Leave the ruling and governing to the people who have the education and capacities for it. Be content with your steady income and peaceful life. That is true freedom for everyone.
Of course, this idea would horrify those who adored the old Greek ideas of political freedom, but we have to admit that the world had changed since Athens ruled the waves.
The world had changed into complex nation-states, which made it quite a puzzle to figure out how everybody could participate in shaping society.
As we have seen, the guts to kick out absolutist kings began in the American colonies of England and this movement against absolutism blew over to Europe.
I guess people in Europe were done with absolutism too, so they just followed the good example,
We discussed however the contra-revolutionaries and they had good reason to be that way, because this whole belief in political freedom, that the people govern, had led to shocking events,
as was The Reign of Terror, (1793 -1794) a period of the French Revolution. When following the creation of the First Republic,
a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour and anticlerical sentiment.
We set the clock to 1815. Napoleon has been defeated and now we have to reorganize the world. Let's do that in the next lecture.
Thank you for your attention again...
MacMillan The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd edition
TABLE OF CONTENT -----------------------------------------------------------------
1 - 100 Philosophers 9 May 2009 Start of
2 - 25+ Women Philosophers 10 May 2009 this blog
3 - 25 Adventures in Thinking 10 May 2009
4 - Modern Theories of Ethics 29 Oct 2009
5 - The Ideal State 24 Febr 2010 / 234
6 - The Mystery of the Brain 3 Sept 2010 / 266
7 - The Utopia of the Free Market 16 Febr 2012 / 383
8. - The Aftermath of Neo-liberalism 5 Sept 2012 / 413
9. - The Art Not to Be an Egoist 6 Nov 2012 / 426
10 - Non-Western Philosophy 29 May 2013 / 477
11 - Why Science is Right 2 Sept 2014 / 534
12 - A Philosopher looks at Atheism 1 Jan 2015 / 557
13 - EVIL, a philosophical investigation 17 Apr 2015 / 580
14 - Existentialism and Free Will 2 Sept 2015 / 586
15 - Spinoza 2 Sept 2016 / 615
16 - The Meaning of Life 13 Febr 2017 / 637
17 - In Search of my Self 6 Sept 2017 / 670
18 - The 20th Century Revisited 3 Apr 2018 / 706
19 - The Pessimist 11 Jan 2020 / 819
20 - The Optimist 9 Febr 2020 / 824
21 - Awakening from a Neoliberal Dream 8 Oct 2020 / 872
22 - A World Full of Patterns 1 Apr 2021 / 912
23 - The Concept of Freedom 8 Jan 2022 / 965
The Discussion
[13:24] herman Bergson: The constant issue here is all the time....when people are content with their lives and government...let it be....
[13:24] herman Bergson: and the belief that everyone has to participate in governing as much as possible
[[13:25] herman Bergson: eventually it ended in the neo-liberal or social-democratic society we live(d) in
[13:26] oola Neruda: what should be done with people like the Ku Klux Klan?
[13:26] oola Neruda: or trump.... who happens to get into power
[13:26] herman Bergson: They can be addressed by making them aware of human rights
[13:26] oola Neruda: nahhhh does not work
[13:27] herman Bergson: the judiciary system should be effective in that case oola
[13:27] oola Neruda: they BECOME the law
[13:27] oola Neruda: one way or another
[13:28] herman Bergson: I must admit, oola....
[13:28] herman Bergson: I myself look at the US every day and wonder.....
[13:28] oola Neruda: rightly so
[13:28] herman Bergson: WHEN comes the DOJ to action....????
[13:29] herman Bergson: How long do we have to wait???
[13:29] oola Neruda: been waiting also
[13:29] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): tot we een ons wegen
[13:29] herman Bergson: Almost Beertje :-)
[13:29] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): maybe it will never happen
[13:30] herman Bergson: THAT would be a disaster
[13:30] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): Trump is a friend of Putin....2 evil man
[13:30] oola Neruda: happens all over the world... unfortunately...
[13:31] herman Bergson: We are talking here about systems we have invented to protect individual freedom....
[13:31] oola Neruda: people who do not want to give up power
[13:31] herman Bergson: and it seems that this system can't handle a coup organizer
[13:32] herman Bergson: so weird oola....
[13:32] oola Neruda: agree
[13:32] herman Bergson: As I said...there is that small group that gets the best part of the pie....
[13:32] herman Bergson: how can that be....?
[13:32] oola Neruda: they have the committee looking into things... but i have yet to feel any relief from it
[13:32] herman Bergson: what keeps such a group in society in place?
[13:33] herman Bergson: What creates powerful people in society?
[13:33] oola Neruda: i still say follow the money
[13:33] oola Neruda: who can bribe congressmen
[13:33] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): people change when they taste the sweetness of power
[13:33] oola Neruda: and for what reasons
[13:33] oola Neruda: self interest
[13:34] herman Bergson: Yes...things like that , and you are right Beertje
[13:34] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): het zijn sterke schouders die weelde kunnen dragen
[13:34] herman Bergson: Are we a complete disaster as social being? :-)
[13:34] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): don't know how to say that in english
[13:35] herman Bergson: How to handle power...? And to what purpose???
[13:36] CONNIE Eichel is online.
[13:36] herman Bergson: I still have no answer....
[13:36] herman Bergson: Just keep a close eye on Mr. Zelensky of Ukraine....
[13:37] herman Bergson: Now he is still a hero...
[13:37] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): yes, but he is changing already
[13:37] herman Bergson: But how will he behave after all is over
[13:37] herman Bergson: He is Beertje?
[13:37] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): yes to my opinion
[13:38] herman Bergson: Then he has tasted power....
[13:39] herman Bergson: Does he begin to show traits of autocratic behavior?
[13:39] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): no not yet..but he refused to meet the germans prime minister
[13:39] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): while german supported him a lot
[13:39] herman Bergson: Missed that......
[13:40] herman Bergson: Well...let's get back to 1815
[13:41] herman Bergson: After the Reign of terror and the dictatorship of Napoleon Europe reorganizes its governments.....
[13:41] herman Bergson: and amazing process.....
[13:42] herman Bergson: who are the people who do this.....???
[13:42] herman Bergson: Is it legitimate what they decide, based on democratic views..???
[13:42] herman Bergson: I guess not....but historically it is amazing
[13:43] herman Bergson: The great Restoration.....
[13:43] herman Bergson: Absolutist kings restored on their posts in almost every European country
[13:44] oola Neruda: I hate to think of our current congress trying to change things... they can't see past their... wallets or fears/dreams
[13:44] herman Bergson: You really have a problem, oola...I agree
[13:44] oola Neruda: Personal... not for "everyman"
[13:45] herman Bergson: Well...let's wait and see and save it for the next lecture...:-)
[13:45] herman Bergson: Thank you, my dear ladies of the day ^_^
[13:45] oola Neruda: hate the state of journalism as it is in certain places
[13:46] herman Bergson: Here it is ok oola ^_^
[13:46] oola Neruda: very uneven here
[13:46] herman Bergson: so.....
[13:47] herman Bergson: Class dismised and hope to see you at least next Tuesday again in good health...:-)
[13:47] oola Neruda: money/advertizing.... being the crux of it
[13:47] bergfrau Apfelbaum: Thank you Herman and Ladies :-)
[13:47] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): thank you Herman
[13:47] herman Bergson: It is terrible, oola...I know
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