Ideals of the Eighteenth Century French Enlightenment: A Foreshadowing of Twentieth Century Human Rights Theory
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Authors
West, James C.
Issue Date
1984
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
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Abstract
In my survey of the major philosophes and their positions on
the Enlightenment ideals pertaining to humanity and human rights,
I have chosen to omit the philosophe Jean-Jacques Rousseau. I
recognize his importance as one of the principal intellectuals of
eighteenth century France, and do not doubt the relevancy that his
ideas could bear on the subject. However, certain aspects of
Rousseau's thought seem to me to be contrary to the nature of my
thesis, and thus I have omitted him to avoid discrepancy. Also,
I originally intended for the survey to include at least a few more
of the philosophers, such as Helvetius and d'Holbach, but time and
circumstances not allowing, I have limited the survey to the four
philosophes herein included. The term philosophe.is a French word
which has not yet been fully Anglicized. A movement is under way
to make it a part of the English language, and I have contributed
to this movement by choosing not to underline it as a foreign usage.
This thesis which I am writing for my Senior Individualized
Project represents an integrated combination of the academic concerns
which have most interested and inspired me during my four years at
Kalamazoo College. As a double major in the departments of French
and Political Science, I came up with this topic as being that which
most encompasses what I have learned in the two areas. Although I
have become more interested in my French studies during the progress
of my academic career, my·studies in political science have made me
aware of and often angry towards what I perceive as being an often
unnecessarily unfair world. Hence my interest in human rights.
Description
vi, 37 p.
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