early human society
Between the years of 1500 and 1789, was a period of growing societies, government, culture, and the values of human beings. Many great English philosophers during this time such as John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Thomas Hobbes wrote and collected their ideas that depict the nature of human beings and how they come together to form a society in which governments are instituted. During this time, these philosophers laid down their ideas in Leviathan, Two Treatises on Civil Government, and The Social Contract. The nature of human beings could be argued in many ways. Some may say it's our nature to be "good." Others may claim that we are born naturally "indifferent" or "wicked." As John Locke puts it, I believe that men are created in a "tabula rasa" manner. Meaning that human beings are created a blank tablet and it's up to society, our environment, and experiences that create and shape our character. We are neither born good or evil, but neutral until someone or something molds our personality, changing and molding until we become what our experiences have made us. Some have grown to be ones who enjoy helping others and strive to create a society in which we are all created equal and live in
Rousseau is telling us that a society just as a child, is attached to its "father" for support and help, but as soon as the society grows up and becomes independent, it doesn't need the father anymore. If there wasn't a government or laws to help control the behavior and actions of human beings, we could all do what we please and live in a world of complete chaos. Societies were established in order to provide humans help and communication with each other in order to keep one another safe and peaceful. Adam and Eve were our parents, guiding, preserving, nourishing, and educating us to create a more peaceful and reasonable society. Yet, there are others who have grown to be power hungry, selfish, greedy, and want nothing more than to be in the top positions, worshiping the almighty dollar. Taxes were levied or removed, the caste system started to disappear, and government started to take the place of the king. Similarly, the relationship between England and the Americas; when the American states were "old" enough and stable enough to be a country on their own, they broke away and cut the ties with England. Having restrictions allows us to think hard on our actions knowing that forbidding the law and committing "crimes" will lead to a consequence that will not be pleasant. I think it was best put by John Locke in Two Treatises on Civil Government, "Men being, as has been said, by nature all free, equal, and independent, no one can be put out of this estate and subjected to the political power of another without his own consent, which is done by agreeing with other men, to join and unite into a community for their comfortable, safe, and peaceable living, one amongst another, in a secure enjoyment of their properties, and a greater security against any that are not of it" (Locke 87). As Hobbes mentions in his writing, Leviathan, he states ". Societies are made to preserve the human race because human beings need other human beings to depend on. These consequences could be as minor as a small fine or attending a program, to something more severe such as a lifetime in jail or the death penalty. If they remain united, they continue so no longer naturally, but voluntarily; and the family itself is then maintained only by convention" (Rousseau 174-175). While Locke tells us that man, compared to a group of bees or ants, works and thinks only for himself, I believe that it is our experiences and surroundings that make us into who we become, whether good or evil. Equality amongst men and women, although still there, was slightly improving.
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