Personal Freedom and Independence in the Works of Benjamin Franklin and Henry Thoreau It is an undisputable fact that the contribution of such prominent philosophers, writers, political and social activists as Benjamin Franklin and Henry David Thoreau in developing American statehood is tremendous. The literary works of both men can serve as a manifesto of national and personal liberation, a call for building a better society, where each citizen can live and work freely. Indeed, both Henry Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau's Integrity Although his actions were admirable and act as evidence to integrity, the writings of Henry David Thoreau and Emerson reveal a haughty and pretentious individual. Thoreau's courage was noble. He was quick to immerse himself in his beliefs and abandon any obligation to social norms despite the risk in damaging his reputation. His rejection of societal limitations and steadfast individualism was truly commendable, however, his mannerisms were extremely rude. He
Throughout a series of books, and now movies known as Divergent they hit a lot of points as to what is believed as a “good society”. In the series, Divergent all must conform and fall into a certain category Dauntless, Abnegation, Erudite, Candor, or Amity . If one fails to do so, and falls into all of the categories they are known as “Divergent," and must be killed for failing to conform to traditional society standards and rules. This relates to Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau, because
In Cannery Row by John Steinbeck and Walden by Henry David Thoreau, the key idea that society can improve through the improvement of the individual helps create an understanding that a materialistic society will result in people valuing materials over morals and values. The lack of morals will result in the dehumanizing of the individual through greed and overtaken by ambition. Thoreau in Walden talks about his plan on escaping society and on only living with the necessities. As he does this he then
in the books Into The Wild and Walden but also throughout history were it has always human nature to live free and as your own person. Throughout the ages, it has been seen many times that those who lead most meaningful and fulfilling lives are individualists. In order for somebody to become an individual, they have to understand what it means to be one and disregard what others may think of them. Works Cited Krakauer, Jon. Into The Wild. New York: Anchor, 1997 Thoreau, Henry. “Walden.” Timeless
The book and movie series known as the Hunger Games is about the battle between Districts one through twelve in the nation of Panem. Each year, one male and female tribute from each district, with twenty-four tributes in total, is chosen to fight to the death until one lone victor remains. The Capitol, the government and major city of the realm, rules the nation of Panem. Moreover, President Snow serves as the lone ruler of the Capitol. Any sign of rebellion against the Capitol will result in
Anarchism as Merely Nineteenth Century Liberalism Taken to Its Logical Extreme - Belief in primacy of the individual, freedom (negative freedom), democracy, free-market. It can be argued that INDIVIDUALIST anarchism is classical liberalism to its logical extreme. Individualist Anarchism: - FREE market. - Highly individualistic. - Optimistic view of human nature - Stateless society. - Emphasis on freedom and civil liberties (as well as emphasis on equality) Comparison
Anarchism and liberalism are two ideologies which have developed into different strands over time. The diverse views within anarchism and liberalism allow similarities between the two to be found, however, anarchism as a whole is distinct from liberalism when comparing beliefs of human nature and political authority. Anarchists and liberals find some common ground when identifying individuality as an integral part of human nature, although social anarchism diverges by arguing that humans have a greater
From the research I gathered there are many schools of thought and some have subcategories in a sense, I will go over the main ones. The schools of thought are: Individualist, Social, Anarcho-Pacifism, Religious, Green, Philosophical, and Anarchy without adjectives. Max Stirner, said to have started Individualistic Anarchy Individualist: - Has one category: Egoist - Egoism is the focus on one’s self and drives, Max Stirner started it. - Individualistic Anarchy centralizes on ... ... middle
Placing Me Before We in Ayn Rand's Anthem Ayn Rand's classic story of one man's desire to become an individual in a nameless society presents a compelling refutation of collectivism in all forms. The hero, labeled "Equality 7-2521" by the State, chooses to challenge conventional authority as he learns the joys of experimentation and discovery, the ecstasy of human love, the challenge and fairness of liberty, and the happiness of self-interest. Equality 7-2521 writes three unique phrases in his
Anarchism in Albert Camus' Short Story, "The Guest" [[ "The Guest" is a small story which can usually be found in a compilation of Camus' works or in a World Literature anthology. Here, I have used the translation of "The Guest" found in the Norton Anthology of World Literature, 5th Edition. Since this is a critical essay on a particular story, it assumes that the reader has read the story. I do not believe that it will be nonsensical if you have not read "The Guest" yet, but I do encourage
Egoism There is no word more generally misinterpreted than the word egoism, in its modern sense. In the first place, it is supposed to mean devotion to self interest, without regard to the interest of others. It is thus opposed to altruism - devotion to others and sacrifice of self. This interpretation is due to the use of the word thus antithetically by Herbert Spencer. Again, it is identified with hedonism or eudaimonism, or epicureanism, philosophies that teach that the attainment of
Ethical egoism can be a well-debated topic about the true intention of an individual when he or she makes an ethical decision. Max Stirner brings up a very intriguing perspective in writing, The Ego and its Own, regarding ethical egoism. After reading his writing some questions are posed. For example, are human beings at the bottom? Following Wiggins and Putnam, can we rise above our egoism and truly be altruistic? And finally, if we are something, do we have the capacity to rise to a level that
This misconception leads people to believe that anarchism is unobtainable and that its impossible to have a working society without a government (Stringham). There are multiple types of anarchist, but a key value amongst them all is that inequalities within society, especially when dealing with wealth and power, is immoral (Caplan). To an individualist, the ideal world is anarchic by nature. Behavioral norms will become tolerance and respect (Powell
Introduction As the political consultant for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community (LGBT), my duties are to push for the basic rights of the individuals who do, or cannot (in fear), identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. As the nation stands right now, being attracted to someone of the opposite sex is considered unnatural, unethical, and a choice to exist against God. However, the foundation that this nation was built upon was created centuries ago, and to
Humans crave improvement, humans crave progress, and humans crave identity. For many, these cravings are satisfied within the ideas and actions behind social movements. According to Dictionary.com, the definition of a social movement is, “a group of people with common ideology who try together to achieve certain general goals” (n.d.). Frequently, these social movements center around a singular issue. In his essay titled “In Distrust of Movements,” Wendell Berry (2000) refers to single-issue movements
McKenzie Duncan Mr. Renouard History 27 April 2014 The Catcher In The Rye J.D Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye is perhaps the most intriguing book in American Literature. The Catcher in the Rye’s theme of teenage rebellion has made it a focus in classrooms around the world. The author leaves much of the book for the readers own interpretation. Many people, especially teenage boys have related to the main character's thoughts and feelings, allowing this book to touch and influence those who have
Ayn Rand authored Anthem about 20 years following the occurrences of the Russian Revolution in 1917. In addition, the misdoings and ills of the Soviet regime under the leadership of Josef Stalin contributed in influencing Rand’s insight of the significance of collectivism. The USSR shared a common belief that Communism, which can be explained as an extreme side of socialism, would assist the citizens by collectivizing numerous aspects of their existence. The collectivist principles made an assumption
Individualism and collectivism are conflicting beliefs with the nature of humans, society, and the relationships between them, however, these ideologies are not diametrically opposing since both are essential towards balancing beliefs from becoming extremes. The first source represents the idea of collectivism and suggests that the society must focus on moving their viewpoint from ‘me’ into ‘we’ in the interest of survival and progression. This perspective presents the idea that the individual’s
Social movements are a type of group’s action consisting large amounts of people, they focus on political and social issues to undo certain social change. This usually happened in industrialized/ urbanized areas. For the emerging of social movements there must be a large number of people experiencing relative deprivation; they must have a high level of interactions and communication, the more socially alike they are, likely to form a movement. There are several types of social movements; reform/radical/peaceful/violent/old