Seminar about A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift

The final seminar of semester one was based around A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. Personally, I found this essay rather entertaining as it was a ridiculous solution to the very serious problem of extreme poverty in Ireland in the 19^th century. Swift stated that the way in which this could be solved is for families to eat their own children for food or sell their children to be used as food as that way people will have money on which to survive. There were mixed reactions from my seminar group with some people saying that Swift’s idea was inhumane and immoral and how could a person even think of a solution to a problem as extreme as killing your own children as it is a parent’s role to protect their children at all costs not eat them for food. Whereas other members of the group believed that Swift was mocking Ireland and his essay was meant to be taken in a light hearted manner as the title of the essay A Modest Proposal suggests that the solution presented by Swift will be a subtle but effective idea such as developing the economy but as you read on it becomes clear that Swift’s idea is cannibalistic and shocking for readers both today and in the 19^th century when it was written.

Lecture about Adam Smith

Adam Smith can be considered as the founder of economics as we know it today and wrote the very first book based solely on economic theory called “The Wealth of Nations”. He wanted to research the reasons why one country was wealthier than other countries. He concluded that the amount of control a government has over its economy determines how much trade takes place both within a country and also internationally such as the slave trade. Smith used England as an example as the English Civil War from 1641-51 had changed the economic growth of the country dramatically. After the King was defeated in 1451, the state control of the economy collapsed and the mercantile traders, who until this time governed the trade industry in England, were forced to lose their power. This fall of power enabled free trade throughout England where everyone was allowed to trade and goods from the Caribbean such as sugar, cotton and tea were important as for the first time the country had a rich and health supply of goods to trade around the world boosting its economy and showing its power.

Smith also believed that if a government left its people to trade by themselves it would create a more stable economy and governments who prevent free trade do more harm than good as the economy becomes stagnant. If a person was a skilled metal worker and another person was skilled at woodwork then naturally they would trade their skills in order to make a high quality product such as an axe.  According to Smith this can help to explain human behaviour as people will not want to buy goods if they are poor quality but if they are good quality then people will want to buy them and they will recommend the product to others.

Seminar Paper on John Locke

Bertrand Russell -  History of Western Philosophy (Chapters 10-17)

During my reading of the chapters I was able to pick up on key areas of discussion which I will highlight during my reading of the seminar paper. These will be based around chapters 13 and 14 of the book which explain John Locke’s theories in the 17^th century. Hopefully discussing these chapters in depth will produce a debate about whether John Locke’s theory of knowledge and his political philosophies can still be relevant in today’s society or whether his theories are outdated and irrelevant.

Chapter 14 of Russell’s book focuses on Locke’s ‘Two Treatises of Government’ written in 1689 after the Revolution in England. Locke can be seen as a key figure during the revolution following the English Civil War as his theories changed the way in which governments were organised, finally giving power to the people. His ‘First Treatise’ outlined how divine right was no longer needed by Kings and rulers as they should be appointed by the people of a country. This came from an idea that God gave Adam the right to rule on behalf of the people, therefore God gave the people the right to choose their leader. In addition, Locke presented the idea that every human being in society had three fundamental rights, life, liberty and property and it was the role of the government to ensure that this was the case for people in England in the 17^th Century.

Locke’s ‘Second Treatise’ was based around the idea of a state of nature where everybody had the right to freedom and equality but subconsciously obeyed what he described as ‘natural laws’. These natural laws were centred on morality where everyone has knowledge of right and wrong. For example, murder is wrong and immoral but helping an elderly person across the road is viewed as being kind and moral. Locke also presented the idea that when a human is born they are like a blank canvas and as we progress through our lives we learn knowledge through our five senses. Chapter 13 explains this theory and the quotation “ Knowledge is the perception of agreement or disagreement of two ideas” is important as it shows how as human beings, we learn from the people around us such as our parents or teachers and we learn from our own mistakes in life which enables us to try and become better people.

Locke’s theories are relevant in today’s society for a number of reasons. One of these reasons is that governments in England are controlled by the people who vote for their chosen leader through democratic elections. Whichever candidate wins the highest number of seats is named as the Prime Minister of the country for four years until another election is held. A second reason is that children today are still raised by their parents teaching them what is right and wrong from a very early age so by the time they reach adulthood they are fully aware of how they should behave.