Equality by default Introduction This essay is dedicated to Equality by Default written by Philippe Beneton. We will explain the essential ways in which Philippe Beneton speaks about modernity and says that democracy, equality and liberty supports each other. He discusses the culture of modernity associating it with equality as the main concept of democracy and argues about the paradox world we live in. He also dwells on equality and claims that it means sharing in a common life. Lets start from the very beginning and dwell on his work. Philippe Beneton examines the main concepts of egalitarianism within the contextual frames of modernity.
According to him, the Self is brought up to the divine level, and the science is the only possible kind of reason. Its quite difficult to explain the meaning of culture of modernity. Culture of modernity is an integral process, which influences formation and development of an individual in the modern society. It also embraces the variety of moral principles, equality, liberties and freedoms, to mention a few. We can call the culture of modernity a social continuity of life. It seems that it includes more than democracy and is often associated with upbringing of an individual as well as the totality of methods that allow an individual to become a full-fledged member of society. Equality by Default by Philippe Beneton Philippe Beneton is Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of Rennes in France.
He is known to be a prominent French religious conservative. His work Equality by Default illustrates a picture of contemporary life a picture that is also may be regarded as a guide for judgment for those who have a hard time seeing modern liberalism for what it is. Equality by Default represents a unique and noticeably insightful account of the late modern thought. This work represents an essay on the modern world, a world that has now reached the condition of late modernity. Philippe Beneton says that his purpose is just to describe within Equality be default our modern world and not to endeavour, by means of communicating giants of thought, to make visible and clear what is going on in this world and what the results have been Nowadays speaking about the modernity implies to think immediately of equality, liberty, democracy and all the freedoms entailed. Most of our contemporaries assume that everything is well-established within this direction. Unfortunately, in reality things are not so simple.
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When I think of modernity I think of change. Modernity is the act of how and why things progress, move forth and new ideas emerge throughout history. It is also the effect of these changes. Such changes can be seen from about 1400 to now. It is these changes that have occurred that allow us to live in a post modern society. Modernity is the act of change throughout history. Religion is constantly ...
Nevertheless, the culture of modernity has spread slowly but surely throughout the West world for about two hundred years. It went faster during 1960s in such a way as to undergo a slight transformation. Therefore, we have a great paradox of our modern world that we live in now: according to all characteristics and appearances the rights of man have emerged successful, thus far at the same time they are left without essence, without any real meaning because of their radicalization. The nature of democratic community requires every man to have an open standpoint. In the process of communication people share their standpoints and opinions, and, in such a way, they contribute to development of community, its cultural and social standards. Democratic community helps people to come to better understanding of the most important position or opinion. Democratic community doesnt force a man to adhere to some obligatory position, but makes all efforts to enhance understanding.
An individual understands the nature of things not as a result of somebodys theory in relation to his own personal experience. It rather comes as a result of his own understanding of world and successful intercommunication with community. The values and opinions are the result of efforts and intellectual achievements in the process of an endless vital experiment. Hence, we as modern people, find ourselves isolated and trapped. Regarding the right of a man that he is supposed to enjoy his autonomy should strengthen him, although, he has been dispossessed of himself. As Philippe Beneton says the great artifice of our time is to give conformism the mask of liberty, in proof thereof we see numerous examples in our real life. Benetons idea is that contemporary liberalism is founded on an idea of man which breaks with all the humanism of the West.
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Man is pure indetermination, autonomy without a compass, liberty without a vocation, he is what he makes of himself( Philippe Beneton, 2004).
Unfourtunately, Benetons vision of the world is sobering, but, to say the thruth, somehow not a vision of despair. In Equality by Default Philippe Beneton addresses a modern world in which all well-known democratic and individualistic transformation of life has already advanced far beyond what he had the power to foresee. And it is clearly seen from the authors words that in our time, the option of sanctioning this transformation with the purpose of bringing up any changes is no longer viable. Today there is no longer any alternative to exhibiting in broad daylight the emptiness of formal democracy, to plainly stating the dependence of democracy on understandings of human dignity that cannot be extracted from the pure form of democracy. It is also very important to look closer at the title of the work, for it should help greatly to catch the idea of the author. The first half of the book is Equality by Default. Hence, we may suppose that Philippe Beneton is going to discuss the kind of equality that appears in modern society in the absence of a persuasive alternative.
The second half of the title An Essay on Modernity as Confinement implies that modernity has a tendency to grasp people’s minds in a narrow perspective possibly in order to suppress wonder and thoughtfulness. Equality by default, explains Beneton, is founded on an idea of man which breaks with all the humanism of the West. Man is pure indetermination, autonomy without a compass, liberty without a vocation; he is what he makes of himself (Philippe Beneton, 2004).
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Abstract This study examined the opinion of a little group of people in Bangkok about gender equality and focus on should women be equal to men or not? From the books and online data, give two aspects of it (women should be equal or not). The information bring from period time and the present time. Moreover, add supporting this research by comparison of equality between law and social values. It ...
In other words the author wants to communicate to us that with modern development human will is for sure to be liberated from all spiritual and moral authority and all opinions will became equal. In fact, people have in common the right to have nothing in common. That is the most important Philippe Beneton tries to communicate.
Beneton’s presentation of equality by default is definitely influenced by his study of Tocqueville’s. Tocqueville says, I know of no country where there prevails, in general, less independence of mind and true freedom of discussion than in America. A few paragraphs afterwards he asserts that there is no freedom of mind in America. The result of these words is that the power of the majority is not only predominant but irresistible (Brian Benestad, J., n.d.).
On the other hand Beneton believes that today’s loss of freedom is the result of dominant opinions that prevail in the culture. Whilst citizens can be accustomed to live badly, no high-quality way of life can be forced on them.
Either man has an essence and is endowed with a vocation, Beneton claims, or he is purely indeterminate. The outline of political and social life depends directly on the answer to that very question. Philippe Beneton also widely represents the concept about tolerance. He connected the widespread idea of tolerance with relativism. Each one has his truth, each individual is autonomous and the self is the source of meaning (Philippe Beneton, 2004).
According to this view, each person must take his life from his personal subjectivity. No one on the earth has the right to enforce any universal model.
The author says that an opinion is something an individual possesses and that definitely depends on ones independent liberty. If truth be told absurdity should reign. There is likelihood that pure liberty implies two important factors: I (as an individual) am free to decide my life’s meaning and essence, and it is up to me to decide what is meaningful and depends absolutely on the individual will. Freedom, if it is true freedom, is deprived of significance. Conclusion Consequently, having analyzed the main idea of this noteworthy book we may say that it is in fact much more than a work of sharp cultural criticism, although it makes a unique contribution in that direction. It is primary and foremost diagnosis of political and spiritual condition that Beneton named late modernity.
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Every one has human rights. they can be civil, political, social, cultural, or economic rights. Civil and political rights are also called first generation rights. These rights give an individual the right to protect them selves from the government.They can there for participate in free speech, voting and fair trial. They include, the right to life, the right from slavery, the right to marry and ...
Using the technique of judgment and with an elegant language style Beneton draws out the consequences of the present-day rejection of a substantial view of human freedom, one informed by a humanizing sense of obligation and of the moral limits that inform true individuality. However, Beneton never despairs of democracy and its future. He appreciates that we are not destined to be last men incapable of loving what ought to be loved or looking up to what is really splendid. Speaking in particular about late modernity we may state that this phenomenon does not address itself to free men.
Bibliography:
Beneton, Ph. (2004) Equality by Default: An Essay on Modernity as Confinement.
ISI Books. Brian Benestad, J. Equality by Default. (2000).
Retrieved December 06, 2005, from http://www.assumption.edu/magazine/archive/spring2 000/Benestad.html.
