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CURRENT "OBJECTIVE" HISTORICAL MODELS ARE FLAWED
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- THOMAS HOBBES
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CURRENT "OBJECTIVE" HISTORICAL MODELS ARE FLAWED1. "OBJECTIVE" HISTORY FOCUSES ON THE OPPRESSOR, IGNORING THE OPPRESSED Howard Zinn , Professor of History at Boston College, UNSUNG HEROeS. The Progressive Magazine. June 2000, http://www.progressive.org/zinn0600.htm, Accessed June 1, 2003. p-np. Granted, it is good to have historical figures we can admire and emulate. But why hold up as models the fifty-five rich white men who drafted the Constitution as a way of establishing a government that would protect the interests of their class-slaveholders, merchants, bondholders, land speculators? Why not recall the humanitarianism of William Penn, an early colonist who made peace with the Delaware Indians instead of warring on them, as other colonial leaders were doing? Why not John Woolman, who, in the years before the Revolution, refused to pay taxes to support the British wars, and who spoke out against slavery? Why not Captain Daniel Shays, veteran of the Revolutionary War, who led a revolt of poor farmers in Western Massachusetts against the oppressive taxes levied by the rich who controlled the Massachusetts legislature? 2. MURDER'S SHOULDN’T BE PORTRAYED IN A HISTORICALLY BENEVLOANT LIGHT Howard Zinn , Professor of History at Boston College, UNSUNG HEROeS. The Progressive Magazine. June 2000, http://www.progressive.org/zinn0600.htm, Accessed June 1, 2003. p-np. In the year 1992, the quincentennial of the arrival of Columbus in this hemisphere, there were meetings all over the country to celebrate him, but also, for the first time, to challenge the customary exaltation of the Great Discoverer. I was at a symposium in New Jersey where I pointed to the terrible crimes against the indigenous people of Hispaniola committed by Columbus and his fellow Spaniards. Afterward, the other man on the platform, who was chairman of the New Jersey Columbus Day celebration, said to me: "You don't understand- we Italian Americans need our heroes." Yes, I understood the desire for heroes, I said, but why choose a murderer and kidnapper for such an honor? Why not choose Joe DiMaggio, or Toscanini, or Fiorello LaGuardia, or Sacco and Vanzetti? (The man was not persuaded.)
Howard Zinn , Professor of History at Boston College, UNSUNG HEROeS. The Progressive Magazine. June 2000, http://www.progressive.org/zinn0600.htm, Accessed June 1, 2003. p-np. The same misguided values that have made slaveholders, Indian-killers, and militarists the heroes of our history books still operate today. We have heard Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, repeatedly referred to as a war hero. Yes, we must sympathize with McCain's ordeal as a war prisoner in Vietnam, where he endured cruelties. But must we call someone a hero who participated in the invasion of a far-off country and dropped bombs on men, women, and children
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHER 1588 - 1679Biographical BackgroundA seventeenth-century philosopher, Thomas Hobbes has been credited with creating English language philosophy.77 This was a unique accomplishment because up until that time philosophy was the domain of ancient languages such as Latin and Greek, and the “new” language, French. He is considered one of the great European philosophers of the seventeenth century. Hobbes was born to relatively poor parents in the town of Malmesbury, England, on April 5, 1588, the year of the Spanish Armada. According to several biographical accounts, when he referred to his birth he said that his mother went into labor when she heard that the Spanish Armada was coming—”so that fear and I were born twins together.”78 Although it is believed that his parents were not well educated people, Hobbes was a very good student and a master of the Renaissance curriculum. He was particularly skilled at learning languages. He could speak and read Latin, Greek, French, and Italian. He demonstrated this mastery by translating great Greek works— such as works by Thucydides and the Odyssey—into English. This fluency in foreign languages allowed Hobbes to become a kind of political aide to important figures of European politics. Because he could write letters and speeches as well as reply to foreign correspondence, he became a valued staff member to the first Earl of Devonshire, William Cavendish. Through this influential post, Hobbes had a “front row seat” for many key political decisions of the day. According to one editor of a translation of Hobbes’ Leviathan, “His practical and personal knowledge of European politics was unrivalled by any English thinker of his generation...”79 Philosophical ComparisonsThe philosophical topics that Hobbes focused on can be divided into three issues which form one system: natural, moral and civil.80 He believed natural philosophy provided the foundation to examine and advocate certain kinds of moral and civil philosophies. It is generally accepted that his notion of natural philosophy is similar to physics, or scientific reasoning. When scholars and historians analyze Hobbes’ philosophy—either moral and civil-be is often compared and contrasted with his other contemporary thinkers and writers, for example Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Rene Descartes (both of whom are discussed in this book). Such comparisons provide viable material by which to judge and better understand Hobbes and his theories. His political philosophy is often contrasted with Rousseau’s. Mainly because both men discussed strong sovereignties. However, in Rousseau’s philosophy, a strong sovereignty did not necessarily mean a strong monarchy. For Hobbes, sovereignty and monarchy were synonymous ideas. He was a vocal advocate of monarchial government, which was severely threatened during Hobbes’ life. The civil unrest that took place in Europe in the 1600s, especially The Puritan Rebellion in England (1639- 165 1) and the French Civil War (1649-52), were major events that shaped Hobbes’ political philosophy. And it is mainly for his political philosophy that Hobbes is best remembered.
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