Friedell
Political Theory
Professor Glyn Morgan
Final Essay
4/29/14
Question: What is Bernard Williams “Idea of Equality”? Is he right? (Option #3)
Equality: it’s one of the elementary concepts that was created in the eighteenth century. The basic idea when Thomas Jefferson and the rest of the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, was that “all men are created equal” (US 1776). In his book, Problems of the Self, Bernard Williams, in the chapter titled The Idea of Equality, claims that “the aim is that of securing a state of affairs in which men are treated as equal beings which they in fact already are, but are not already treated as being” (page 230). It is important to remember that whenever the word “men” is used in philosophy, it isn’t referring to the male gender; it is actually referring to all people. To put Bernard Williams’ philosophy into simpler terms, he believes that all people were created as equals and, therefore, they should be treated as such. However, he states that they are not actually treated equally — even though they should be. And Williams says that has to change.
The philosopher begins his chapter on equality by discussing common humanity. He starts by saying that there are some, such as “egalitarians”, who believe that equality in men exists simply because of “their being men: it is their common humanity that constitutes their equality” (The Idea of Equality, page 230). As Williams respectfully disagrees with the egalitarianism idea of equality, his own idea of equality really starts to unfold. I believe Williams is right when he says on page 238 that when we talk about the equality of men (and, again, that is all people) from “the human point of view,” it might ...
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...istributing a good based on who has the most money or who comes from a better background. While most, if not all, of what Williams had to say about his idea of equality made perfect sense from a moral point of view. However, in reality, it’s going to be very difficult for healthcare, per se, to be distributed solely on who is in need of it (who is ill), if that person doesn’t have the funds. Morally, just like I said, it makes perfect sense, but in reality doctors need to make a living and if they’re just handing out healthcare left and right based on who is in need of it, what’s the point?
With all that Williams has talked about, it’s not a question that equality is a complicated topic to discuss; it’s a subject that has to be discussed in the full length that Bernard Williams did in this chapter in order to be able to understand and grasp its concept with clarity.
In conclusion to this compelling argument that was displayed throughout the book. Jared Diamonds points that were made in his argumentative book Guns Germs and Steel. I found to be thought Provoking and very informative but, falls short at certain Points to his answer to Yali’s question. Jared Diamond’s explanation I found to be a great explanation but not a complete one. Maybe if certain things that weren’t included in this essay were to be put on the book then Guns Germs and steels answer to the question about equality would seem heaven
Everyone views the world with his or her own sense of gender, equality, and mind. Woman today view the world as a one-sided standard where equality does not exist for them. They believe that men have taken away their chances of happiness and opportunity because there are men and we are woman. Even though both men and women share equal hardships some women believe that men still have the final say in their lives. In Scott Russell Sanders essay “The Men We Carry in Our Minds” he believes that women have life made essay in his mind but woman must work just as hard as men for jobs, believe that everything should be given to them just because to who they know and what they do, and that men will always ruin the world and that women are the more dominate
Today, women and men have equal rights, however, not long ago men believed women were lower than them. During the late eighteenth century, men expected women to stay at home and raise children. Women were given very few opportunities to expand their education past high school because colleges and universities would not accept females. This was a loss for women everywhere because it took away positions of power for them. It was even frowned upon if a woman showed interest in medicine or law because that was a man’s place, not a woman’s, just like it was a man’s duty to vote and not a woman’s.
Some men believe women are inferior to the male species; however, that is not the case. Both men and women are both capable of achieving greatness if given half the chance to do so, unfortunately, this means equality. In “From A Vindication of the Rights of Women”, Mary Wollstonecraft dispenses her thoughts on how unfairly women are treated in the 1700s, in addition to expressing her opinion on the issue in her essay. Wollstonecraft stated that “Men and women must be educated, in a great degree, by the opinions and manners of the society they live in.”, this statement is very true, no matter what times you are living in. Women are unique and equal creatures that can offer many things to society if given the same proper education and training
Wilkinson, R. and Pickett, K. (2010). The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone. London: Penguin.
In 1776, five members assembled to draw up the Declaration of Independence, a document that clearly stated independence from Britain, and listed the colonists’ grievances and natural rights. One of the most controversial components was the following statement: “We hold these truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The concept of equality debated and understood in a variety of ways throughout American history. Equality, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, can be defined as “the quality or state of having the same rights, social status, etc.” Consequently, changes have been sought to obtain rights that were not easily granted. Marginalized members of society have fought to acquire rights, whether human or civil, since they believe that, as citizens, they deserve equality. The trend of change in the name of equality has brought about numerous fundamental and eternal transformations in American society.
Equality discovers electricity, one day, and through this he recognizes the importance of intelligence, determination, and most of all, Equality learns that being different is not a transgression, but an essential part of life. Equality learns that he is the only one that can say if something is beautiful, if something is good, if something is bad, if something is ugly, and no one else can form his opinion for him, because he is an individual (94).
Lamb, Kevin. "The Problem of Equality". The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies. v20, #4 (Winter 1995) 467-479.
Frederick Douglas, Chief Joseph, and William Grahamn Sumner all used equality as a call for a social justice, but all of these men had different views on what equality truly meant. similarities occur because all these men believed that their group were put behind another group of people so their group suffered. African Americans and Indians were put behind white people, while the rich’s rights were being forgotten by the public because of the poor people. The context of each of these men shaped their views on equality, and each one of these men used equality in order to further their groups personal agenda. This is why Americans did no agree on a common definition of the word equality.
Equality has discovered something all by himself and he’s the only one that knows it. Equality would help create a new idea of the period of invention and discovery but only if it was accepted by the Council. (Pg 53 Rand)“We put a piece of copper and a piece of zinc into a jar of brine, we touched a wire to them, and there under our fingers, was a miracle which had never occurred before, a new miracle and a new power.”
The subject of equality and inequality are a sensitive and controversial topic. Both equality and inequality were portrayed in the short story, “The Lesson.” In this short story by Toni Cade Bambara, Miss Moore, a well known woman in the neighborhood, gives the children in her local area a lesson about the brutal inequalities that are in existence within the socioeconomic status system. This leads the children to ponder about the equality and inequality that exists within society. Toni Cade Bambara uses her short story, “The Lesson” in order to shed light on the injustices and racial inequalities in society. The goal of the story is to not only fight for racial equalities, but socioeconomic equalities as well.
Ever since the women’s suffrage movement of the 1920s, there has been a push for eliminating sexism and providing equality between men and women, especially in the workplace. The United States, along with most of the world, has made great strides in gender equality since then. Women can vote, and have careers, and men are able to stay home with the children if they choose to. But are the sexes really equal now? There are three common answers to this question. Some say yes, while the most common answer is no. The debate does not end there, however. It is typically assumed gender inequality is oppressing women and limiting their rights. Regardless, there are those who say the system is harming men instead. So, if gender inequality still exists,
Do we truly understand how the meaning to equality among men and women affect society. Jobs, health, and education are affected by what transpires from the meaning to gender equality. Throughout history equality has been debated. Equality is defined as getting respect and giving respect regardless of gender or culture through fair treatment and maximized happiness. Balance and harmony are developed from the application of ethical theories to aid society in defining the meaning to gender equality rather than debating the issue. Therefore, defining gender equality should be the role of society by utilizing ethical theories. The theories can be consequentialist or nonconsequentialist acts that develop and maintain good morality and ethical
Michael Levin, a professor of philosophy and author of the book Feminism and Freedom, faults feminism for trying to impose an inappropriate equality on men and women that conflicts basic biological differences between the sexes (Levin, Taking Sides, 42). Women are not the same as men, neither physically nor psychologically. In the past, men tended to be the stronger more powerful gender, while women have traditionally been viewed as the weaker, more feeble one. The untrue assumption that men and women are the same in their ways of thinking and physical capabilities leads to the failure of the feminist message. Their agenda of eliminating all observable differences between men and women is doomed to fail and will inflict more pain than gain in the process. Recognizing the differences between the sexes and allowing each to do what they are strongest at will in the long run make society stronger, more efficient, and more effective.
Equality is a concept mankind never is able to grasp correctly. Of course humans will always search for different solutions to create fairness, but factors such as human greed, ignorance of mass populations, and even biological aspects stagnates the process of equality. The oldest and most relevant discussion on equality lies with the difference of sex; man versus woman. Initially, men, because of their physical superiority, were given the prospects many women never even dreamt to have. Conversely, as time has progressed, women have fought this unfair treatment with demands of suffrage and similar rights to those of their male equivalents. Greatly enough, this generation has done an exceptional job in the challenge of overcoming sexism and inequality. However, will this search for equality ever end? When can we say we have created an equal race of men and women? The fact of the matter is that it is truly impossible to have equality between the sexes because of predisposed circumstances that are not easily controllable in the slightest bit.