Homework Questions - HUM 220 E-Folio - Home



Lanette Burgos

HIS 112 2w2

William Dick

2012 January 30

Homework Questions

HIS 112 (World Civ. II)

(Page 1)

QUESTIONS FOR AREOPAGITICA (John Milton)

• Which, according to Milton, is worse, destroying a book or destroying a human being? Why?

o To Milton, destroying a good book was worse than killing a man because, well for one, whose behind the creation of that book? Of course man. Killing a man is like killing God’s image, so killing a book, is like destroying a line of creations all made by the man upstairs himself.

• Why did Milton write this essay?

o Milton wrote the essay, actually turning into a speech which he wasn’t expecting, that talked about censorship and his argument against the Licensing Order of 1643.

• What are Milton's arguments against censorship?

o Milton’s argument against censorship was based on the fact that there was no such thing in the times of the Greeks and Roman societies doing such things as censoring all their documents they wrote. Milton encountered a time of censorship when it came to a divorce and argued the point that no matter the fact if a name was written within a book, that it was still capable of being destroyed.

• Do Milton’s arguments have relevance today? Explain.

o Now days, anything that rightfully belongs to another person, it being a song, facts, information from a book, etc. is now either piracy or plagiarizing. Everything used has to be credited by the person behind it. Music and movies downloaded off the computers has become such a big deal because of the fact that people are “stealing” and making the makers of that movie lose money. When we write research papers for school, we have to write where we got our resources. Especially now with this whole internet war going on with Youtube and Google where their policies have changed and what not. Everything has a name written on it somewhere.

QUESTIONS FOR THE HABEAS CORPUS ACT

• What is meant by "habeas corpus"?

o The actual meaning of habeas corpus translates to English as “ you have the body”.

• Why is the writ of habeas corpus so important in the Western legal tradition?

o The importance of the writ of habeas corpus means a prisoner can be put in shown in court and there being a reason for him to being held in imprisonment in the first place and if its reasonable or not. Habeas corpus can be proof of a prisoner being imprisoned by it either being an error or in actuality legal.

QUESTIONS FOR THE BILL OF RIGHTS (1689)

• What was the background to the English Bill of Rights? (What events led to it?)

o The English Bill of Rights was created in good reason for citizens and their rights. When the British army came marching through a town, citizens had no say in taking the soldiers into their homes and giving them a bed and food to sleep in, and soldiers took easy advantage of their hospitality.

• In what ways does the Bill of Rights restrict the power of the king?

o To put in simple terms, the king can’t do just whatever he wants with the people and take complete unfair control over everything they do. The Bill of Rights gave them the advantage of putting their foot down and fighting for what is rightfully theres.

• What is the significance of the Bill of Rights for England, and for America?

o The Bill of Rights was the correct term for the first ten amendments and gives the people the right to have some freedom from the law.

• How did the English system differ from French practice at this time?

o

QUESTIONS FOR THE SECOND TREATISE ON GOVERNMENT (1690)

• How does John Locke justify the overthrow of royal authority?

o

• What is the state of nature?

o The meaning of state of nature by John Locke, all me are free “to order their action, and dispose of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within in the bounds of the law of nature.” “The state of Nature has a law of Nature to govern it,” and that law is reason. John Locke believed that “no one ought to harm another in his life, liberty, and or property,” and if harmful acts were taken, they were to be punished.

• What, for Locke, is the chief end of political association?

o The chief end of political association is when the moment comes to a stand for people to fight against their government to try and protect themselves from destruction due to bad leadership. “The end of government is the good of mankind.” (pg. 301)

• What importance does John Locke have for later events in America?

o John Locke made an impact on America in later times as of to influencing political philosophy, especially liberalism. His arguments of liberty and social contract later influenced the famous document that was written by the founding fathers of the United States, The Declaration of Independence.

QUESTIONS FOR THE SOCIAL CONTRACT

• Who was Jean-Jacques Rousseau? Write a brief biography of him.

o Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a writer, musician, and political theorist who created the Social Contract in 1762. He was born in Geneva, Switzerland June 28, 1712 and is in controversial arguments of contributing to the Romantic Movement and inspiring the French Revolution. Jean was sent into religious schooling where he endured punishments; the beginning of his hatred towards authority.

• What is the social compact?

o The term social compact is an agreement among the members of an organized society or between the governed and the government defining and limiting the rights and duties of each. ()

• What, for Rousseau, is the relationship between might and right?

o For Rousseau, justice could not be defined as the power of some individuals to gain advantage over others. If justice were the same as the power to gain advantage over others, then the most powerful individuals would always be the most just and morally right. There would be no obligation for an individual to comply with a lawful authority unless that authority had the power to force the individual to cooperate.

QUESTIONS FOR THE PHILOSOPHICAL DICTIONARY

• Who was Voltaire? Write a brief biography of him.

o Voltaire, born November 21, 1694, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his intelligence and wittiness and his beliefs in civil liberties such as freedom of religion, freedom of expression, free trade and separation of church and state. Voltaire wrote plays, poetry, novels, essays, historical and scientific works. He supported social reform despite censorship laws. He was a rebel.

• What was Voltaire’s personal motto? What did it mean?

o Voltaire’s personal motto was “crush the infamy” and it could pretty much be broken down simply as meaning to crushing superstition.

• Who are some of the "patriarchs" which Voltaire meets on his journey? Why are they sad?

o The first that Voltaire goes to is a man with a crown on his head who was named Numa Pompilius who was the second king of Rome after the death of the first king Romulus. He had written books on different deities which he believed in so much in such as Nymph and Jupiter. Under his reign, the Romans were living good lives without war and other such disasters, but after his death, they had forgotten about him and his teachings. Another man he went to was Zarathustra. Not much is known of him. Greek scholars believe he was the author of Gatha’s, a part of the holy book of the Zoroastrians. Voltaire happens to come upon a door with the quote “When in doubt if an action is good or bad, refrain.” I’m guessing whoever was responsible of the deaths of the pile of people really didn’t care and just killed them out of pleasure.

• Who is the last person he meets?

o He looked to be a Sage in his thirties and had bloody feet and hands and his body had whip lash markings. In my opinion and from the description of the condition of his body, it sounded like it may have been Jesus. He seemed forgiving and wise and said he was left the way he was by hypocrites and Voltaire seemed to ask him how he could let him them do that, and his attitude toward the whole thing was almost like he had already forgiven them.

• Judging from this reading, what do you think of Voltaire’s views on organized religion?

o From my understanding of Voltaire’s views on organized religion would be that he saw it as something evil and could careless for it. Like all the rest of the religious fanatics, he sort of seemed like a hypocrite as well.

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