Liberty

:This article is about the concept. For other meanings, see liberty (disambiguation).

Western civilization

Liberty was greatly prized by many classical writers such as Aristotle, Demosthenes, Cicero and Tacitus, often in the context of democratic institutions. Christian theology developed elaborate ideas about the relationship between liberty and the morality of action, as is seen in the works of Duns Scotus and Thomas Aquinas.

Related Topics:
Aristotle - Demosthenes - Cicero - Tacitus - Duns Scotus - Thomas Aquinas

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The thinkers of the Enlightenment reasoned the assertion that law governed both heavenly and human affairs, and that law gave the king his power, rather than the king's power giving force to law. The conception of law as a relationship between individuals, rather than families, came to the fore, and with it the increasing focus on individual liberty as a fundamental reality, given by "Nature and Nature's God", which, in the ideal state, would be as expansive as possible. The Enlightenment created then, among other ideas, liberty: that is, of a free individual being most free within the context of a state which provides stability of the laws. Later, more radical philosophies articulated themselves in the course of the French Revolution and in the Nineteenth Century.

Related Topics:
Enlightenment - Reasoned - King - Law - Nature - Nature's God - Ideal state - French Revolution

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The first half of the 19th century for Western civilization was marked by a series of turbulent wars and revolutions, which gradually formed into an idea and doctrine now identified as individual liberty. The chief philosophical ground for "Liberty" in this most recent period has been the idea of human rights and that human beings are too valuable to be in slavery (as well as the idea that human beings ought to control their own destiny). Much of this philosophy stems from religious views, although Christians, Jews, Muslims and followers of other religions have all practised slavery in the past.

Related Topics:
19th century - Western civilization - Philosophical - Human rights - Slavery - Destiny - Religious view - Christian - Jew - Muslim

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