Barbara Wertheim Tuchman (1912 – 1989) was an American historian and author. She won the Pulitzer Prize twice.
In an interview on MSNBC with Lawrence O'Donnell the Washington Post journalist: Bob Woodward said:
If you think about this country and happen to be reading Barbara Tuchman, (...) in 1976 [she] wrote an essay, what she said, what's unique
about America is, it is a country founded on an idea, and that idea is DEMOCRACY. -end quote-
The big difference between America and Europe is that Europe had a long history of all kinds of kings, despots, and tyrants,
While America was originally a colony with some ruling royalty on the other side of an ocean.
So, Europe started the revolution and debate on establishing democracy with a Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome
while America could start the debate on the subject without a historical burden and simply could start with the idea of democracy itself.
And around 1785 -1790 the air was filled with serious debates on human rights and rule by the people on both sides of the Atlantic ocean.
What should freedom look like for the French revolutionaries? The first draft of the declaration was presented on August 17, 1789, by a committee
headed by the Comte de Mirabeau, a leader of the early stages of the French Revolution, more abstract and philosophical than the American Bill of Rights, which about later.
Rather than listing the main individual rights, it described the principles on which a legitimate constitution should be based.
The first article stated that all people were born free and equal. This statement was followed by a number of articles
that set out the basic principles of a legitimate government, in other words, a government befitting free and equal individuals.
These principles implied that all political communities were based on a social contract and that all power came from the nation.
Magistrates had authority only to the extent that the nation had delegated it to them.
Like Spinoza, Locke, and Rousseau, philosophers we have encountered in several previous projects, Mirabeau made it clear
that man could only maintain his natural freedom within a specific institutional context, namely under a government based on the sovereignty of the nation.
Article 6 of the draft declaration made this point even more explicit by stating: "The freedom of the citizen consists in being subject only to the law."
Article 4 stated, "A nation may not recognize any laws other than those expressly recognized and approved by the nation itself or its lawfully elected representatives."
In other words, people were free only if they lived under laws of their own making, and not under the arbitrary decrees of any king or prince.
This first draft contained the same ideas, that America would be founded on too. Also in the light of the previous lecture
in which we put some question marks regarding this concept of equality, there still has to be explored more here, but that's for 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
[13:17] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): Thank you Herman
[13:18] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ㋡
[13:18] herman Bergson: As you see...here is the idea developed that man has just one safe place...THE LAW
[13:19] herman Bergson: and that is ok, because the laws have to be made and approved by the people itself
[13:19] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): depens on the law I suppose
[13:19] herman Bergson: No law may be in conflict with the natural rights of the individual, Beertje
[13:20] herman Bergson: SO, no law may restrict the freedom of speech for instance, or freedom of religion
[13:20] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): that'snot always the case
[13:21] herman Bergson: No, indeed...but that is when the law sets limits to these individual freedom, but that law would be approved by the people...
[13:21] herman Bergson: Freedom of speech doesn't mean that you can say anything you like...
[13:22] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): true
[13:22] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): some forget that
[13:22] herman Bergson: It is not allowed to insult or lie about people in public
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): 'laws are necessary indeed cause there are always people who want to do bad things (murder each other plunder and cause chaos ect) but it is very omportant that the laws are correct and just
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): indeed herman
[13:23] herman Bergson: As you see....
[13:23] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): cause that is a very bad thing to do against others
[13:24] herman Bergson: the system we live by today was based on the heritage of the Ancient Greeks, wass agreed upon in those days in 1789 and later
[13:24] herman Bergson: here and in America...
[13:24] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): is it the same system here as in the US
[13:24] herman Bergson: It only reached other parts of the world because of colonialism and imperialism
[13:25] herman Bergson: the US and European system aren't the same
[13:25] herman Bergson: Just think of all voter suppression laws they are able to invent in the US
[13:25] herman Bergson: Unheard of in Europe
[13:26] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): yes
[13:26] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmm indeed
[13:26] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): its crazy and unfair to me
[13:26] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): oppression
[13:26] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): not democratic at all4
[13:27] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): it should be for everyone
[13:27] herman Bergson: Yes and what you see is a serious decline of democracy in the country that has claimed to be THE example of democracy for the world
[13:27] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but black people for ect are still looked down on like they are gangsters or less worth
[13:27] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): in some cases police have even shot people on sight just because of their skin color and referring to them as gangsters
[13:28] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): causing some well known great scandals and riots in protest
[13:28] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): really tragic
[13:28] herman Bergson: yes, the US still is a systemic racist country in many parts of the country
[13:29] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmm
[13:29] herman Bergson: the latest "fun" is CRT.....Critical Race Theory......
[13:30] herman Bergson: teh Reps are extremely against it....it may not be mentioned in schools etc.
[13:30] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): what does it mean CRT?
[13:30] herman Bergson: But it is complete nonsense because hardly anyone knows what critical race theory is
[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well it does not mean Cathode Ray Tube i guess
[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): does
[13:31] herman Bergson: For Reps it means, that you say that there exists systemic racism, that whites have to be ashamed about their racist past...things like that.
[13:31] herman Bergson: However...
[13:32] herman Bergson: CRT is an academic dicipline.....
[13:32] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ok
[13:33] herman Bergson: its thesis is that you should not look just at racism committed by individuals, but you have to study how much racism is embedded in all kinds of social matters, like laws, cultural matters, and other social systems...
[13:34] herman Bergson: Like feminism is among other things the study of how discrimination of women is embeded in the social system....
[13:34] herman Bergson: the glass ceiling, career opportunities...
[13:35] herman Bergson: and nowadays....most of medical research is done on males....
[13:35] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): its taken for granted the black people and women are less worth
[13:35] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): then wite males
[13:35] herman Bergson: females with the very same disease show other symptoms than males, but they are not mentione in the books
[13:35] herman Bergson: Car crash research.....
[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): all crash test dummies are male
[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): never seen a female one actually myself either
[13:36] herman Bergson: crash testst are done with dolls....MALE SIZED
[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): yes
[13:36] herman Bergson: this has as a consequence that even when using safety belts in a car a woman has 30% more chance to be killed in a car crash than men
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): :(
[13:37] herman Bergson: CRT is a likewise academic approach of systems and culture in a society
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/12/21/female-crash-test-dummies-nhtsa/
[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): here i found something
[13:38] herman Bergson: and it is not what the Reps are crying about....that it almost incites white people to feel ashamed about being white
[13:39] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): that's discrimination too
[13:39] herman Bergson: like in the previous lecture I showed you how male dominated everything is......
[13:40] herman Bergson: the more you think about it, the angrier you can become ^_^
[13:40] bergfrau Apfelbaum: The main thing is that God is female!
[13:40] bergfrau Apfelbaum: :-)
[13:40] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): true Bergie
[13:40] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): a black female:)
[13:40] bergfrau Apfelbaum: lol
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): YAY! (yay!)
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): that would not be more then right
[13:41] herman Bergson: just a pitty that She doesn;t exists except in people's phantasy :-)
[13:41] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): on paintings it's always a white guy in a long coat
[13:42] herman Bergson: yeah that is Jesus...
[13:42] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i use to think of a throry that racism is bottomed in jealousy, because why would white people otherwise spent hours in solariums to get darker
[13:42] herman Bergson: tho in reality he must have been a man with a dark skin
[13:42] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): they secretly want to be black but don't want to admit it
[13:42] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): if he exists
[13:43] herman Bergson: There you are mistaken Bejiita....
[13:43] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i myself think i would look really cool in really dark skin
[13:43] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well its just an idea
[13:43] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): that seemed a little fun
[13:43] herman Bergson: In Chinese culture women did everything to prevent their skin to be exposed to the sun and get darker....the paler the more beautiful you were then
[13:43] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): in esarlier days people with dark skin were the poor ones who had to work outside
[13:44] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): slaves
[13:44] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): the rich wer white
[13:44] herman Bergson: Right Beertje,,,yes THAT was the reason....
[13:44] herman Bergson: the poor worked in the fields...so were colored by the sun
[13:44] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): yes
[13:44] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): thats because the white man came to africa and kidnapped them cause they looked different and so concluded they had do be less developed and less wirth then us
[13:44] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): the rich stayed inside
[13:44] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): worth
[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and so the tragedy of slavery began
[13:45] herman Bergson: The whiter you were the further away you were from that proletariate
[13:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): often black people were compared to apes (nothing wrong with apes and monkeys though, after all we stem from them)
[13:46] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): i'm rich, i don't even get coloring de sun:)
[13:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but as in dumb and less intelligent
[13:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): tree clingers
[13:47] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): these days it's the other way around, rich get in the sun, they have money to have vacation
[13:47] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): the whites have to work
[13:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): flying to Thailand and their tax paradise islands 10 times a year
[13:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ssss
[13:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): at least some do
[13:48] herman Bergson: So, although the ideas on democracy are more than 2500 old, around 1789 it got hold of European and American culture and societies
[13:48] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well sure i also want to travel now but
[13:48] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): is it the best thing for a country?
[13:49] herman Bergson: Let's see in the next lecture how it came to a conclusion.....
[13:49] herman Bergson: Democracy, Beertje?
[13:49] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): yes
[13:49] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[13:49] herman Bergson: I tjink it is when the Trias politica are really separated institutions
[13:50] herman Bergson: that is...the legislative branch, the judicial branch and the executive branch
[13:51] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ok
[13:51] herman Bergson: Where the legitive branch should be formed by representatives from the people......the different factions among people....using a system of majority voting
[13:53] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): here they have to give the people a lot of information
[13:53] herman Bergson: the executive branch puts the laws to work....makes the decisions for the welfare of the nation, controled by the legislative branch
[13:53] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): so that all the people know were to vote for
[13:54] herman Bergson: the judicial branch is the one you can go to when you see that the executive branch doesn't apply or doesnt behave according to the laws
[13:54] herman Bergson: THAT is what is now happening in the US
[13:55] herman Bergson: The DOJ has to act....indict Trump cum suis etc....
[13:55] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): indeed
[13:55] herman Bergson: Yes Beertje....information and freedom of speech are essential parts of the process
[13:56] herman Bergson: doesn't work well all the time....but then the legislative branch or judicial branch can interfer...
[13:57] herman Bergson: like in our famous "Toeslagen affaire"
[13:57] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): ja...verschrikkelijk
[13:57] herman Bergson: but elas....today this has created a complex bureaucracy which has become a power of its own
[13:57] herman Bergson: But nevertheless....
[13:58] herman Bergson: when you are interviewed by a TV reporter you feel free to answer whatever you like
[13:58] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[13:59] herman Bergson: instead of beinfg stifled by a threat of 15 years in prison if you use the word "war" or "invasion" for instance
[13:59] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): these people are terrified to answer
[14:00] herman Bergson: So...is our democracy a good place to be...with all its dwawbacks?
[14:00] herman Bergson: yes Beertje....WE don NOT live in fear...not a single day of the week
[14:00] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): true Herman
[14:00] bergfrau Apfelbaum: she is the better evil
[14:00] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): who?
[14:01] herman Bergson: Naem any other political system on this world where people can say the same
[14:01] bergfrau Apfelbaum: the democracy, Beertje
[14:01] herman Bergson: Indeed Bergie...it seems to be the least worse political system of all possible systems
[14:02] herman Bergson: the Greeks already understood this, and this observation hasn't changed through the centuries
[14:03] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[14:03] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): wonder why they came on the idea
[14:03] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): democracy is nr 1 for sure
[14:03] herman Bergson: Yes Beertje...I wonder too
[14:04] herman Bergson: But there can be good arguments....
[14:04] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): realizing that everyone want to have their say maybe not just one'
[14:04] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): idk
[14:04] bergfrau Apfelbaum: i feel safe about some laws.... but it would be nice if everyone would stick to it! e.g. the "Russian Pig's Head"
[14:04] herman Bergson: First one was in those days....We do not want to be slaves
[14:04] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): indeed no one does
[14:05] herman Bergson: and as we saw in previous lectures....
[14:05] herman Bergson: the Greeks did not only want to be slaves in a physical sense....they also did not want to be slaves in a social-political sense....
[14:06] herman Bergson: No one tells me what to do and how to live UNLES I have agreed to that...
[14:06] herman Bergson: That was their belief....
[14:06] herman Bergson: What is at the basis of that?
[14:06] herman Bergson: Feelings of personal pride and self-esteem perhaps?
[14:07] herman Bergson: the feeling that I have the same rights as my neighbor?
[14:07] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): yes I think so
[14:07] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[14:08] herman Bergson: What gives you the right to claim ten acres of land while you say I am allowed only to three acres of land?????
[14:08] herman Bergson: disputes like that?
[14:08] herman Bergson: Food was important in those days
[14:08] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): still is
[14:09] herman Bergson: yes but now we have supermarkets....don't need to produce it ourselves...
[14:09] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): true
[14:09] herman Bergson: But I know what you mean...
[14:09] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and factories makes all we need
[14:09] herman Bergson: that isn't the case everywhere....
[14:09] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): (3d printing might change it in future though ㋡ )
[14:09] herman Bergson: Africa, Jemen, India...etc...
[14:10] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): food and fresh water
[14:10] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaa they are not industrialized countries, well India is
[14:11] herman Bergson: Well let's not go into all kinds of details here....
[14:11] jaynine Scarborough is online.
[14:11] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but still not all made in factories, its a mix of rural and industrial. And when i picture india u mostly image either taj Mahal or poor people, slum , trash everywhere ect
[14:11] herman Bergson: at least I tried to justify democracy from a historical perspective and explain how it came into being
[14:11] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and elephants and cows roaming the streets
[14:12] herman Bergson: As I said...forget the details for a while here
[14:12] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but india indeed are a hell on computers and high tech nowadays
[14:12] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[14:12] herman Bergson: Thank yo for our pleasant exchange of ideas again....
[14:12] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): Thank you Herman
[14:13] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): one thing is for sure, everyone should be free and happy in the perfect world
[14:13] herman Bergson: Class dismissed.....
[14:13] herman Bergson: Start with creating a better world first Bejiita...perfection still is out of our reach
