Wollstonecraft's Vindication: Women's Rights

• Mary Wollstonecraft wrote 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)'
• This text argues for women's education and equality and is a foundational feminist text

Key points and arguments

• Philosophers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, believed women should be subservient to men, a view Woolstonecraft critiques
• Women are not naturally inferior, but become so because of a lack of education and limited opportunities
• This is in response to French politician Talleyrand-Périgord's pamphlet on national education
• If women are not educated to be companions of men, the progress of knowledge and virtue will stop
• The neglect of women's education has caused great misery
• Women are taught that romance is the primary goal, and they aren't encouraged to develop reason or virtue
• Women are considered primarily as human creatures with faculties to unfold
• Reason makes people human and virtue distinguishes people, and virtue comes from knowledge
• Men and women should aim to acquire identical virtues, despite having different duties
• Women are not given adequate opportunity to develop reason and attain virtue due to haphazard education
• Taught to please men and prepare for courtship and early marriage but not to build sustainable marriages or care for children
• Pleasure is the overriding goal, so women aren't given the opportunity to struggle with adversity to develop knowledge and virtue
• They are driven by emotions/sensibilities, which do not prepare women to be good wives and mothers
• Neglectful education leaves women vulnerable if widowed, or if seduced and ruined and without financial support

Critiques and concluding remarks

• Critiques Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who argues women only need education to serve men
• Dismisses Fordyce's sentimental sermons and Gregory's rules of decorum
• Women absorb oppressive standards because they haven't been taught to distinguish between reason and prevailing prejudices
• Childhood impressions and modesty for both sexes are important, as is the distinction between external reputation and virtue
• Duty, especially of motherhood and domestic life, is vital for families and society
• Society pressures women to prioritize external beauty, so they have no incentive to attend to duties, which leads to unhappiness and malformed family bonds
• Women deserve civil laws to support them in fulfilling their duties and should have the option of studying medicine, politics, and business to be of greater use to society
• Concludes with a proposal to establish free national schools for all children, which would focus on creating good citizens and nurturing virtues
• Advocates coeducation to allow natural and healthy relations between the sexes
• Educating girls will not distract them from domestic duties, but awaken their minds prepare them to fulfill their duties using reason and virtue rather than ill-informed prejudice and unruly feelings
• Calls for a revolution for women, reiterating that their subordinate status is due to men's prejudices, not any inherent weakness
• Independence, understanding and affections will prove their natural abilities
• They need to be released from ignorance so they can gain independence, making society better

Key Themes: Wollstonecraft's beliefs

• Women should be educated in rational thought, not just domestic skills, because they are essential to society as mothers, wives, and independent thinkers
• Virtue should not be gendered; both men and women should be held to the same moral standards
• Women are taught to prioritize beauty and obedience over intellect and independence, which controls social control

Jeremy Bentham's 'An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789)'

• This lays the groundwork for utilitarianism, a moral and legal philosophy based on maximizing happiness and minimizing pain.

Key points of Bentham's Utilitarianism

• Actions are judged as right or wrong based on their tendency to promote happiness or prevent suffering. The greatest good for the greatest number should be the guiding principle of morality and legislation
• Human behavior is due to the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain, so laws should align with these natural motivations to create a just society
• A system measures the value of pleasures and pains based on intensity, duration, certainty, proximity, and extent
• Laws should maximize social welfare, ensuring justice by deterring crime, protecting rights, and promoting general happiness, while punishment should only be used when it serves a greater social benefit

Influences that regulate human behavior

• Physical (natural consequences of actions)
• Political (laws and government enforcement)
• Moral (social approval or disapproval)
• Religious (spiritual beliefs and divine consequences)
• Critiques the idea of inherent natural rights, so rights only exist within a legal framework created by society
• Bentham provides a rational and systematic approach to ethics and law, that policies should be evaluated based on their consequences for overall happiness

Edmund Burke 'Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)'

• It is a foundational conservative critique of the French Revolution

Salient Key Points

• Abrupt and radical political change leads to chaos and tyranny rather than progress, so gradual, organic reform rooted in tradition is preferred.
• Inherited customs, institutions, and social hierarchies provide stability and continuity
• Abstract natural rights (e.g., liberty, equality, fraternity) must be grounded in history and practical governance rather than theoretical constructs
• Religion is a foundation for moral and social order
• Revolution's overthrow of traditional authority would lead to lawlessness, violence, and ultimately dictatorship
• A ruling elite that acts responsibly is a must in a stable society, and property rights must be protected
• Revolutionaries lack wisdom and practical experience, replacing stable governance with reckless ideology
• Contrasts the French Revolution with England's 1688 Glorious Revolution, which he views as a model of responsible, limited reform that preserved essential institutions

Significance

• Became a key text for modern conservatism and influencing later thinkers on the dangers of radicalism and the value of tradition

Edmund Burke's Conservatism and Realism

• Conservatism and Realism share intellectual affinities, particularly in their views on human nature, political order, and the limits of rationality
• Reconsidering Burke through the lens of Realism reveals deeper insights into his thought and contemporary relevance

Key Parallels of Burkean Conservatism and Realism

• Burke critiques the rationalist utopianism of the French Revolution, and similarly, Realism in international relations rejects idealistic visions of world politics and emphasizes power, interests, and historical contingency
• Human nature is flawed and driven by passions, traditions, and social bonds rather than pure reason, so they act out of self-interest and power considerations rather than moral perfection
• Gradual evolution of political institutions based on historical experience is emphasized, and importance of established power structures and institutions in maintaining stability is underscored
• A pragmatic, historically informed approach to politics is advocated rather than rigid ideological dogmas and promotes pragmatism, focusing on practical outcomes rather than moral absolutes in statecraft

Reconsidering Burke in the Context of Modern Realism

• Burke's warnings against radical ideological transformations can be applied to modern interventions and regime-change policies
• His cautious approach resonates with Realist critiques of liberal internationalism
• Emphasis on gradual reform over revolution echoes in contemporary debates on political change
• Caution against idealistic policies detached from historical and social realities

Final Thoughts and Considerations

• Conservatism and Realism share a deep intellectual foundation based on skepticism of abstract reason, recognition of historical continuity, and the prioritization of order over utopian aspirations
• This enriches our understanding of conservatism and offers contemporary political and international thought lessons

Bentham and Mill’s Utilitarianism

• Bentham and Mill were key in utilitarianism, an ethical theory to evaluates actions based on consequences that maximizes happiness/pleasure and minimizing pain/suffering

Jeremy Bentham's Act Utilitarianism (1748–1832)

• Founder of classical utilitarianism, and developed a quantitative approach to pleasure and pain

Bentham's main ideas

• Actions are morally right if they promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number
• A system to measuring pleasure and pain based on intensity, duration, certainty, and extent
• Each action should be judged individually based on whether it produces the most pleasure
• Bentham's approach was purely hedonistic and impartial

John Stuart Mill – Rule Utilitarianism (1806–1873)

• Refined Bentham's utilitarianism and introduced an approach with focuses on a qualitative aspect to happiness

Key contributions of Mill

• Intellectual and moral pleasures are superior to bodily pleasures
• Instead of evaluating actions individually, one should follow rules that generally promote the greatest happiness
• Believed that individuals should be free to act as they wish unless they harm others, integrating a more liberal and rights-based perspective

Comparison between Bentham and Mill

• Bentham focused on quantity of pleasure vs Mill, who focused on quality of pleasure
• All pleasures are equal according to Bentham, while Mill believed there are higher vs. lower pleasures
• Bentham used act utilitarianism while Mill followed rule utilitarianism
• Bentham decided on a case-by-case evaluation, where Mill followed general moral rules
• Bentham had less focus on the individuals rights, while Mill advocates for personal liberty

Conclusions

• Bentham laid the groundwork for the approach with a mathematical and impartial approach
• Mill refined it, emphasizing the quality of happiness and moral rules to create a more practical ethical system