you must act in a way that harm is minimized. To be considered moral you must do what is considered to be “right”. I believe that in both cases it is a judgment call. What is moral or ethical to one may not be to another. In his writing of Civil Disobedience‚ Henry David Thoreau focusses on his views of the government and how he believed it to be unjust and unfair. Ethics and morality come to question throughout his writing. Thoreau talks of the laws being established by the majority and that those
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Civil disobedience is defined as a rising up against an established law in order to expose the lack of morality in the law. In Antigone it is clear that what the king was trying to do was unjust and unfair. Antigone was arrested for burying Polynices‚ her brother‚ after the king refused to bury him. If Eteocles‚ her other brother‚ could be buried with full military honors‚ then why could they not do the same for Polynices. Similarly in 1872 a woman named Susan B. Anthony was arrested because she
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good conscience should actively oppose unjust government policies through nonviolent resistance‚ such as refusal to pay taxes. If an individual felt that a law was unjust‚ he/she should then break it. According to Henry David Thoreau’s essay Civil Disobedience‚ the United States government back in the time of slavery‚ and the era of the Mexican War‚ was corrupt‚ weak‚ and abused its powers. Thoreau had strong feelings toward the abolition of slavery‚ and he also felt that the Mexican War was an unjust
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In the two essays “Self Reliance” and “Civil Disobedience‚ written Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau respectively‚ the two 19th century transcendentalists speak about what it means to be an individual and how society can be changed for the better. While both authors stress the need for nonconformity and individuality‚ the essays differ on the details. In “Self Reliance”‚ Emerson goes on to talk about the American sense of individuality. He makes the claim that the traditions of old are
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Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau was little known outside his hometown of Concord‚ Massachusetts‚ where he was much admired for his passionate stance on social issues‚ his deep knowledge of natural history‚ and the originality of his lectures‚ essays‚ and books. He was also maligned as a crank and malingerer who never held a steady job and whose philosophy was but a pale imitation of Ralph Waldo Emerson ’s. Thoreau was a man of ideas who struggled all his
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Independence Movement‚ civil disobedience has been among us for so long‚ and each society is able to build off its predecessors’ mistakes.Henry Thoreau inspired generations to come in his essay‚ “Civil Disobedience”‚ and the effect of it was widespread.In fact‚ while in jail‚ Mahatma Gandhi picked up a copy of Thoreau’s essay and was able to utilize the tactics discussed by Thoreau to successfully challenge Britain’s control over India.That movement created a template itself as the Civil Rights movement
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“everyone must be free to act according to his own conscience in what pivotal societal means he deems necessary.” Or in other words‚ any man can speak for himself‚ but by societal norms‚ no man can. “That government is best that governs least”(Civil Disobedience‚CD) What Thoreau is stating‚ is that society can be so much better than it is‚ if the government is taken out of it. The ideal concept of the discussion is that a government that gives you free range makes you think more likely to do the right
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Apology and Civil Disobedience are two famous literatures that depict the principles or basic premises of Socrates and Henry David Thoreau‚ respectively. The Apology‚ however was written by Plato based on his depiction of Socrates’ defense speech when he was put on trial for “corrupting the youth and impiety.” Principles found in Socrates’ speech to the men of Athens (jurors) can be compared and contrasted to principles of Henry David Thoreau which can be located in his essay‚ Civil Disobedience. In Thoreau’s
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after battle. In my country‚ there are also many heroes. For me‚ one of the greatest heroes is Martin Luther King Jr.; he was a great preacher and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience. Even though he is greatly known for being nonviolent‚ he was assassinated. This great person died like that. The whole-love heart inside him also was gone with his death. Heroes aren’t
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groups of communities based on race‚ sex‚ age‚ and status (whether economically or politically) that leads to forms of rebellion to fight against the hierarchy in order to close a gap in society as a result. Mohandas Gandhi explained in his “On Civil Disobedience essay‚ “No country has ever become‚ or will ever become‚ happy through victory in war...it only falls further...either our act or our purpose was ill-conceived‚ it brings disaster to both belligerents.” (Gandhi‚ 1916) Instead of using war‚ he
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