Thomas More.pptx

8/10/2019 Thomas More.pptx

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THOMAS MORE ONREPUBLICANISM AND

THE FAMILY AS THEBASIC UNIT OF

SOCIETY


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Sir Thomas More

Patron Saintof Lawyers

English lawyer,humanist,

philosopher,scholar,

statesmanand

writerof theRenaissance

period.

EnglishChancellor

of King

Henry VIII.

Famouslydescribedby Robert

Whittingtonas"a man for allseasons.

He believed inHumanismandRepublicanism.

He believed in thesanctity of

marriageand theimportance of

family; that thefamilyis theBasic Unit of

Society.

(AKA St. Thomas More)(1478 - 1535)


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Humanism

A broad category of ethical,metaphysical, epistemological and

political philosophies in whichhuman interests, values, and dignitypredominate. It has an ultimate

faith in humankind.


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RepublicanismRepublican Form of Government

Citizens of a country have an activerole in the affairs of the government.

The strength of the republican

government relies on the peopleinvolved.


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The advantage of a Republican formof government:

Precisely because man is corruptible, itwill be too risky to put all sovereignty

into one mans power in perpetuity.

The Sovereign must be elected by thepeople so that the electorate can checkand terminate their rulers regime forabuses.


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A Treatise on the Passion

Because of the human

tendency to err, human beingshave a special need for

government.


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In his work Utopia,A large family is the basic unit of the

society. The young children help in thehousework, while the elderly educate thechildren. The whole island of Utopia itself is

run like a single family.

Because of the importance of the family,

there are strict regulations to prepare men andwomen to marriage and sexual fidelity.


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More argued that a good ruler would be like

a father to his children, rather than a master tohis subjects.

In his work, Epigram 121,More wrote that any man who has commandof many men owes his authority to thosewhom he commands: he ought to havecommand not one instant longer than hissubjects wish.


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The Rule of Law

In Richard III, More wrote that unlimitedpower has a tendency to weaken good minds,even in the case of gifted men.

To correct even an absolutist government,there must be the rule of law.

Law is a criterion of justice and thesubstantial shield of freedom.


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UNLOCKING THE

INALIENABLERIGHTS


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The law is the organization of the natural right oflawful defense. It is the substitution of a common forcefor individual forces. And this common force is to do

only what the individual forces have a natural and

lawful right to do: to protect persons, liberties, andproperties; to maintain the right of each, and to cause

justice to reign over us all.

Frederic Bastiat, The Law


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Locke said that in the beginning, people lived in astate of peace, goodwill, mutual assistance, and

preservation, and enjoyed natural rights to protecttheir own life, limb, and property.

Man is by nature social and the social contractwas made to further the common welfare,especially for others who may not be able to defend

themselves. Thus, a civil government must becreated not because the natural state is a state ofwar, but for greater convenience.


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Civil Rightsthe rights that would nototherwise exist without the promulgation of

laws brought about by the social contract.Civil rights should protect and supplementnatural rights through written laws.

The Peoples Trust

Social Contract is a pact between free men

for the public good.Laws hold must therefore be limited to publicaffairs, and beyond this, people should be freeto be themselves.


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Balance of Power tripartite systemlegislative, executive and judiciary.

Doctrine of non-delegation -Sovereign power cannot be transferred

to those whom the people did notentrust this power.


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ROUSING MAN TO BE FREE

Presumption of InnocenceRousseau conceived man to be originally

good and free in his idea of the noble savage. That

puts the burden on society to prove the guilt of anaccused.

In his work The Social Contract, Rousseau said that

man was born free but everywhere he is in chains.He believed that civilization can corrupt a personand destroy his spontaneity, and creative energy.


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Each individual is considered part of the wholesociety, the collective body. It is a moral body where

citizens share in the sovereign power.

The social contract is there to enhance mans

freedom.

Freedom is the opportunity to do what is right,

including obedience to authority as assented byones citizenship or membership to a society.

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