“There are no universal ethics. ” This was what the Greek historian Herodotus argued more than two thousand years ago, illustrating his point with a story about the Persian king Darius. The king, wrote Herodotus, summoned several Greeks and asked them how much money it would take for them to eat the dead bodies of…… Continue reading Herodotus and Ethics
John Stuart Mill is said to be famous for two major ideas: Utilitarianism Radical feminism Utilitarianism = the theory that actions are right if they are useful for the benefit of the majority (society). So Mill basically proposed that the basis of actions should be the amount of happiness they bring, because a better society…… Continue reading John Stuart Mill
(my notes from the podcast called “Foundations of Modern Social Theory”): He was famous for being both an artist and sociologist. His famous sociological work has been written in the form of a novel, and called Emile. In Emile, written in the first person, Jean Jacques is the tutor to Emile, from when he was…… Continue reading Jean Jacques Rousseau
(my notes from the podcast called “Foundations of Modern Social Theory”): Montesquieu and Rousseau were the two key figures that influenced the French Revolution. Montesquieu’s The Spirit of Laws is a famous book in all languages that studies the concept of law from a general, political, environmental, commercial, religious and historical perspective. The social scientists…… Continue reading Montesquieu (Charles-Louis de Secondat)
John Locke was the first reasonable philosopher, and social scientist to massively working on human reason and understanding. He made the clear statement in his treatise that men are born free and equal. He expressed the need for a common superior, but did not necessarily believe the superior to be a king; but proposed that…… Continue reading John Locke
Reading John Locke, while you are a Muslim, makes you wonder whether he was a Muslim or not. His theories especially those of human understanding and humans as individuals resemble so much to Islamic doctrines that one cannot stop comparing the two (although incongruous in some parts). His emphasis on humans as individual beings who…… Continue reading Was John Locke a Muslim?
My research starts with the name of Thomas Hobbes, said to be the founding father of social studies. But to me he seemed to have a rather perplexed mind, and Leviathan is his great masterpiece, which perfectly shows this complexity and alienated feelings. Hobbes believed humans are by nature evil; therefore, should be ruled! It…… Continue reading Thomas Hobbes
