It does not settle the west. It does not educate.” Thoreau also uses powerful imagery in order to persuade his readers towards his ideals. He believed that one must be conscious of the laws they choose to obey and disobey, whether or not they are in the minority. The people should not be tricked into believing that neither the government nor the majority will know what is right and what is wrong. Instead, Thoreau remarks that it is up to every man to decide for himself what is right based on his moral standards and ethics.
Augustine defends the god of theism by rejecting the existence of evil as a force or power opposed to god as it would reject the premise that god is omnipotent. Below are the ways in which he justifies moral and natural evil, which respectively mean evil caused by human acts, and evil events caused by the processes of nature. To justify evil, he solves the problem by defining evil as a ‘privation’ – which means when something is ‘evil’, it is not defined to contain bad qualities but is seen to be falling short of perfection, or what it is expected to be. Take a rapist as an example. Adopting Augustine’s idea of ‘evil’, we are to say that he is not living up to standards expected of human beings.
He explains the difference between unjust and just laws saying a just law is one that is made by man but parallels the code and laws of God. And thus, he can rightfully tell people to disobey the unjust segregation ordinances because they are not morally correct. [627] He then point out the distinction between his arrest for not having a permit to parade, and that he was really arrested because he was promoting desegregation. He then points out the First amendments right of peaceful assembly and protest. He says that if you are going to disobey the law you must do it so with a willingness to admit it and acceptance of the appropriate punishment- that in turn is an example of respecting the
Thoreau’s purpose is to convince the citizens of America to not follow the majority, but do what is felt to be morally right. Thoreau believes that citizens have the right and responsibility to disobey laws and regulations if they are unjust and not moral. Another one of Thoreau’s main points is that there
His friend Crito comes to his rescue except, Socrates declines this rescue as he explains that doing so would be a breaching of the laws. His reasoning behind is, that by escaping he is favoring those who have condemned him and failing that which is fair and just, the laws; even when these have wrongly condemned him. So he questions whether he ought to break the laws or not. (Plato 49-51) Whether he was persuasive in terms of his escape that is very clear as he does feel he should side with the law, the reader could perceive it differently. While there is a clear understanding of what is right and wrong, looking at both points of view it seems that the overall point is lost to Socrates.
” (King). King uses the letter to help the Clergymen understand why he was in Alabama and why it was necessary for him to protest while in Alabama. King uses ethos, pathos and logos influences to support the claim that his presence and actions were necessary to cause much needed and long awaited change, the most powerful statements in the speech are written to the appeal to the audience’s logical side. In the letter he tells explains to his audience, the Clergymen, that he doesn’t usually respond to criticism stating “Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas”. This sets a tone of significance for the letter and calls for attention to the matter.
In response to Dr. Martin Luther King’s letter to his fellow clergymen, it appears that they were asking or even possibly pleading Dr. King to stop his activities describing them as, “unwise and untimely.” These activities included a non-violent campaign of civil rights demonstrations, sit-ins, non-violent marches, concerns regarding police brutality and civil equalities for people of color. Dr. King eloquently wrote a long letter, as he sat in jail, describing all his concerns to a clergy of his peers, in the hopes they could see how all these injustices demanded action immediately and not by waiting as they mentioned. Dr. King was obviously disappointed with a letter that he received and wanted his concerns to be heard. As he sat in jail and pondered all the injustices he had witnessed or had been a part of, it appears that he had time to create a letter which he felt would outline and describe how he felt about the situation. When Dr. King stated facts about describing the situation in Birmingham, he clearly wanted to provide a foundation to build upon.
Thoreau’s essay, “Civil Disobedience”, describes his idea of rebellion against laws he felt were unnecessary or unjust. He says that not following a law he doesn’t believe in is the most effective way to show the government and lawmakers what he stands for. “Civil
During the course of reading Euthyphro, the idea of doing what is right became the overall goal for what Socrates was trying to argue. Though to one such as myself, I would easily define it as doing what is morally good according to a just law. However, after reading this dialogue, there would seem to be many loop-holes that could be argued against my understanding. The whole dialogue of this section concerns how a man named Euthyphro is supposed proceed against his father in civil court, and how Socrates see's this as morally wrong. How he asserts his disposition is through asking Euthyphro to give his reasoning behind his actions, and constantly disagreeing with him through more questions which lead into more universal idea's such as
Martin Luther King stated, “A just law is a man-made law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law” (Schaefer, 2011, p. 187). King believed, “that people have the right to disobey unjust laws under certain circumstances” (Schaefer, 2011, p. 187). I agree with King’s beliefs in regards to civil disobedience. If a person feels strongly about something, the only way for things to change, are for people to take a stand.