Term
| The Major Points of Otis' argument against the British in his "Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved" |
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Definition
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Term
| Outline the major points of Adams' argument in "Novanglus" |
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Definition
a) Believes in separation of religion and government
b) Appeals to compact and consent (argues our ancestors at Plymouth didn’t need help from the British, they ruled by contract)
c) Preaches mixed government: kingship, aristocracy, democracy, treated as an antecedent to separation of powers (people naturally consent to limited government) |
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Term
| Outline the major points of Paine's argument in Common Sense |
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Definition
a) Argued for independence from England and creation of a democratic republic
b) He aimed to grow the patriot cause
c) He said an Island should not rule a continent
d) No mother country should be so brutal
e) America would be dragged into unnecessary wars
f) America was influenced by all of Europe |
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Term
| How does Paine's argument differ from both Otis and Adams? |
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Definition
| The way in which he separates himself so definitely from both Adams’ and Otis’ argument is in his irreverent expression of his desire that there be a radical revolution that overthrows all existing traditions and presents a “new method of thinking” that deems monarchy bad in itself. |
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Term
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Definition
| A tendency to consider material possessions as more important than spiritual values. |
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Term
| An example of materialism that relates to American history or the American experience. |
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Definition
| In our readings, Veblen eludes to materialism when he brings up conspicuous consumption. He argues that conspicuous consumption is an endless cycle of spending money on stuff you don't need, which is the entire basis of materialism, putting such a heavy focus on material goods, not on saving your spiritual soul. |
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Term
| Why is materialism less likely to arise in a monarchy? |
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Definition
1) lack of social mobility and lack of choice in occupation, no competition, no need for materialism, if you were materialistic it wouldn't help you improve your standing in life or your quality of life.
2)the aristocracy looked down on new money and extravagant spending, those with old money knew how to handle it, preventing the upper class from being materialistic and extravagant. |
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Term
| Why is materialism more likely to arise in a democracy? |
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Definition
1)In a democracy, there is social mobility, by acquiring more, one is able to move up in life, at least in a social aspect, because everybody wants to be successful, everybody is competing with each other, leading to materialism.
2)Even more importantly, there is equality, there is the opportunity for every person to gain, this intertwined with the passion for gain and moving up in the world allows materialism to be prevalent. |
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Term
| What are two possible dangers of materialism? |
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Definition
1)According to Tocqueville, materialism can lead to a disinterest and unfocused relation to higher things like religion, spirituality, and friendship.
2)Steffens points out in his "Shame of the Cities" that materialism will bring you to focus on your personal property rather than the well being of the country
3)"people will spend money they don't have on crap they don't need." Materialism can cause people to go into debt. |
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Term
| What are two ways in which materialism can be combatted? |
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Definition
1)Tocqueville would suggest that materialism can be combated by focusing on religion, if we are focused on the spiritual aspect of life, we won't be caught up in the necessity of trying to get ahead in the present world, because we have the hope of reward in the after life.
2)Tocqueville also suggests voluntary association to combat materialism, because materialism is based on being an individual and anything that will draw you out of your individualism can combat materialism. |
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Term
| Why is religion so strong in America? |
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Definition
1) Religion is natural, humans fear death, religion provides hope for life after death, immortality in a sense.
2)Another reason religion is so strong in America is for the same reason that it has dissolved so much in Europe. Tocqueville mentions that in Europe, religion has been tainted and corrupted by politics. America has a separation of church and state, therefore religion can stay pure.
3)A final reason that religion is so strong in America is that America has such a wide variety of religions. As a commercial nation, everybody wants a religion that will cater to their specific needs. America can offer that by offering religious freedom, everyone can choose the religion that caters to their wants, making religion more desirable. |
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Term
| How or in what ways has religion been transformed? |
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Definition
The major transforming factor of religion is liberal disestablishment.
1) There is a "feel good" emotion associated with religion, focus is on rewarding the righteous, religion is more comfortable, focus on personal relationship with God.
2)Less emphasis on hell and the bad afterlife.
3)religion and commerce reinforce each other, rewards come only after hard work, present pain for future gain. |
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Term
| Critically analyze this change by giving at least one reason why the transformation of religion in America may be good |
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Definition
| The religious transformation in America is good because 1)the focus on materialism gives us hope for future reward, taking away from fear of death. 2)transformation led to people being more moral to achieve heaven, as the focus was on the good afterlife. |
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Term
| At least one reason why the transformation of religion in America may not be good. |
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Definition
The transformation of religion can be detrimental because as we are more materialistic, we are more inclined to have vices.
As more emphasis is placed on the good afterlife, people become more passive in fighting for their country or being patriotic in this life.
Religion could just be incompatible with democracy. |
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Term
| Why did the Founders object to democracy? |
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Definition
| not to protect their own wealth, but of fear of tyranny and the grave dangers that democracy could bring about. They were also afraid of factions as stated by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison in Federalist Papers 9 and 10. In a democracy, factions have more power because everybody has a voice, so there is a greater chance of faction rule. |
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Term
| What does Croly mean when he says that the democratic principle requires an equal start in the race? |
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Definition
| Not only starting at the same point, but that they have a proper equal background |
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Term
| What is Croly's understanding of the role of government in helping to bring about change? |
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Definition
| Helping have an equal preparation (education, emotional preparation) |
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Term
| Why is the Declaration of Independence incomplete, according to Croly? |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| Croly suggests that an addition of a square deal to the Declaration of Independence will bring about equality as well as a new standard of higher living for the |
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Term
| How is Croly's progressivism different than either Beard or Theodore Roosevelt's progressivism? |
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Definition
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Term
| What are the foundational principles of traditionalists? |
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Definition
| The appreciation and preservation of history, culture, and American Heritage. |
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Term
| Why are traditionalists opposed to Communism? |
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Definition
| Traditionalists mainly oppose communism because communists aim to abolish tradition, communism makes people indifferent to God and tradition, communism allows people to see that they can take care of themselves, they no longer see a need to have God, therefore thee is an inherent connection between communism and godlessness. |
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Term
| Why are traditionalists opposed to Atheism? |
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Definition
| It takes away the moral foundation that they strive for |
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Term
| Why are traditionalists opposed to progressivism in general? |
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Definition
| Traditionalists and progressivists ideas necessarily conflict. Progressivism is about moving forward, looking for the next biggest thing, while traditionalists are focused on preserving the past. |
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Term
| What is the foundational principle of libertarianism? |
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Definition
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Term
| Explain what spontaneous order means |
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Definition
| The belief that there is no need to plan a specific social order or economic system, but that in time, with people fulfilling their roles, an orderly good system will fall into place |
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Term
| Why do libertarians object to economic planning? |
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Definition
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Term
| Why do libertarians object to economic regulation? |
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Definition
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Term
| In what way do you think libertarians are different than traditionalists? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is moral relativism? |
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Definition
| The view that moral judgments are only true or false relative to some particular standpoint and no standpoint is uniquely privileged over all the others. |
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Term
| What is historical relativism? |
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Definition
| is the view that truth differs across different periods of time |
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Term
| What is cultural relativism? |
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Definition
| Is the view that beliefs, ethics, and customs are relative to an individual within their society. "Right" and "Wrong" are culture-specific, what is considered moral to some cultures, may be immoral to others, there is no universal standard of morals. Because morals differ among cultures, and there is no universal standard, no one has the right to judge another cultures customs. |
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Term
| Why might moral relativism be considered a good thing? |
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Definition
| Moral relativism might be considered a good thing because it encourages people to find truth on their own, if no one thing is the "ultimate truth," it encourages people to think for themselves. It also encourages tolerance, if you know that what you believe is not the only thing that is true, it allows you to appreciate the truth and weight that other viewpoints hold. |
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Term
| Why does moral relativism appeal to us today? |
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Definition
| Moral relativism appeal to us today because it can be comforting, it allows us to lead the lives that we want and not feel guilt or shame because we are going against a higher law or ultimate truth. |
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Term
| Why might moral relativism be true? |
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Definition
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Term
| At least three arguments against moral relativism |
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Definition
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Term
| Do you think moral relativism is good or bad on the whole? Why? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the purpose of a University education, according to Bloom? |
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Definition
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Term
| What does Bloom mean by the "Closing of the American Mind" |
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Definition
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Term
| What is political correctness? |
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Definition
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Term
| Why does Bloom think that too much political correctness in the university is a problem? |
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Definition
| If politically incorrect ideas are not taught anymore, worse ideas will come flooding in and flourishing. This is harsher authoritarianism than teaching and understanding politically incorrect ideas. |
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Term
| What is multiculturalism? |
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Definition
| Multiculturalism has two meanings. One is the descriptive type, simply meaning that a group is made of many cultures. The other meaning is a normative/moral version where the need/purpose is to promote a respect for all cultures. |
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Term
| Why does Bloom think that an excessive focus on multiculturalism harms education? |
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Definition
| There is no "tree of knowledge", there is too much variety in courses, and the structure of the curriculum is lost. It also detracts from the charms of a liberal arts education, and the charms of real learning. It leads to professors becoming specialists, losing the connections between courses, and losing the charm. |
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Term
| What is Bloom's preferred solution to the problem of a decline in standards of education? |
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Definition
| His preferred solution to the decline in standards of education is to promote literacy and its true meaning, as well as focus on the classics and great book. He's no overly optimistic about the great books being the "silver bullet" to higher education, but rather an ember to tend so at least the great ideas don't die out. |
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