Friday, November 04, 2005
4. The Conscience: “Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward.” Read the rest of this ¶ (top of page 69, left column). Later (p. 71, left), he asks, “Is there not a sort of blood shed when the conscience is wounded? Through this wound a man’s real manhood and immortality flow out, and he bleeds to an everlasting death.” What does Thoreau mean by conscience? How do you define conscience? How does Thoreau seem to define it? How does this become the basis for his own act of Civil Disobedience? Finally, revisit the top quote: Is compromising on moral issues ever necessary?
# posted by Randy Barnett @ 1:04 PM 
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As Mike suggested, Thoreau seems to use "conscience" as simply one's moral values: his or her, perhaps inherant or perhaps learned (I don't recall him specifying; perhaps it is even a combination), beliefs of what is right and just. My view of conscience is very similar to this. I suppose I would define it as simply what one thinks he should or shouldn't to.
Basically, civil disobediance, Thoreau argues, is necessary whenever the government impedes upon one's conscience.
I don't think it is so much that "people should be running the govenrment," as Mike said, as it is that the governemnt should remember that the people gave it power, and it only can work if they allow it to.
I don't know about the moral issue question. I'll compromise on a moral issue, but maybe people shouldn't in general. I really don't know. I know if they do, it makes things much easier. And I'm lazy.
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Basically, civil disobediance, Thoreau argues, is necessary whenever the government impedes upon one's conscience.
I don't think it is so much that "people should be running the govenrment," as Mike said, as it is that the governemnt should remember that the people gave it power, and it only can work if they allow it to.
I don't know about the moral issue question. I'll compromise on a moral issue, but maybe people shouldn't in general. I really don't know. I know if they do, it makes things much easier. And I'm lazy.
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