Back to the Earth Movement
This primitivism had been around for some time; certainly it can be seen in
Thoreau`s Walden, and philosophically it lies at the heart of Rousseau`s utopian
vision with the concept of the "noble savage" free from the encumbrances of
modernity. Based on a denial of the concept of Original Sin, Anthony Ashley
Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, argued at the beginning of the 18th century that
Man is in a far happier and freer state when not shackled by the "arbitrary" rules
and customs of civilization. It was further advanced at that time by Sir Richard
Steele, and can be seen to a limited degree in John Locke and later 18th century
Philosophes. Certainly the celebrity of Benjamin Franklin is attributable in no
small part to his "primitive" background as a humble "Quaker" colonist and yet
brilliant man of science. (Franklin had been raised an Episcopalian, and was
probably a Deist as an adult, but many in Europe assumed him a Quaker.) It
was thought that Franklin's intelligence was born of his "savage" upbringing in
the hinterland.
Primitivism and Utopianism lie at the heart of modern Liberalism, and most
certainly are the roots of the Green movement; many Greens want to return the
Earth to a mythical pristine paradise, to expunge the "plague" of industrialism
and bring back the forgotten Eden which we have despoiled.
From: http://globalwarminghoax.wordpress.com/2007/08/
Next
This primitivism had been around for some time; certainly it can be seen in
Thoreau`s Walden, and philosophically it lies at the heart of Rousseau`s utopian
vision with the concept of the "noble savage" free from the encumbrances of
modernity. Based on a denial of the concept of Original Sin, Anthony Ashley
Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, argued at the beginning of the 18th century that
Man is in a far happier and freer state when not shackled by the "arbitrary" rules
and customs of civilization. It was further advanced at that time by Sir Richard
Steele, and can be seen to a limited degree in John Locke and later 18th century
Philosophes. Certainly the celebrity of Benjamin Franklin is attributable in no
small part to his "primitive" background as a humble "Quaker" colonist and yet
brilliant man of science. (Franklin had been raised an Episcopalian, and was
probably a Deist as an adult, but many in Europe assumed him a Quaker.) It
was thought that Franklin's intelligence was born of his "savage" upbringing in
the hinterland.
Primitivism and Utopianism lie at the heart of modern Liberalism, and most
certainly are the roots of the Green movement; many Greens want to return the
Earth to a mythical pristine paradise, to expunge the "plague" of industrialism
and bring back the forgotten Eden which we have despoiled.
From: http://globalwarminghoax.wordpress.com/2007/08/
Next
Donbot's Site for Philosophical Discussion