Conclusion and Civil Disobedience

  AGENDA:

In groups go over questions for "Solitude" and "Higher Laws"

Discuss paper topics.  Fill out an index card with your name and topic and thesis statement.

HWK: Read "Conclusion" and "Civil Disobedience" for discussion tomorrow.

"Solitude"

1. According to his comments in this chapter, was Thoreau lonely at the pond? Why or why not?
2. What does Thoreau mean by the following comments:
   1. "I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude" (p. 128).
   2. "I have a great deal of company in my house; especially in the morning, when nobody calls" (p. 129).
3. Who are the "old settler" and "elderly dame" (p. 130) whom Thoreau describes as being among his favorite visitors at the pond? 

"Higher Laws"

Throughout Walden Thoreau expresses affection for and delight in the physical details of nature. In this chapter, however, he seems to reject the value of physical nature: "Nature is hard to be overcome, but she must be overc ome" (p. 207). The conflict between physical and spiritual priorities is a main theme of this chapter.

1. What value does Thoreau think that physical activities such as hunting and fishing have (pp. 197­201; see also pp. 266­67)?
2. What d oes Thoreau think is the danger of sensuality, and what solution to that problem does he suggest (pp. 205­9)? How convincing do you find his solution to be, and why?

 

Higher Laws:

 

• Thoreau admits that, lately, he's wondered whether fishing is somehow inhumane. He's already given up hunting and eating meat, since he believes animals suffer and feel pain.
• He goes on to wonder whether it isn't the meat-eating part, so much as the way we eat that is the issue. Thoreau believes that people should only eat to sustain their animal existence. Savoring the deliciousness of food is just a distraction from higher intellectual pursuits. This guy wouldn't have lasted a day in Italy, that's for sure.
• The chapter ends with a scene featuring a hypothetical man named John Farmer, whose only way to a higher spiritual state is to basically watch what he eats, which Thoreau implies is at least the first step toward self-respect.

Major Themes of Civil Disobedience

The right to resistance
Thoreau affirms the absolute right of individuals to withdraw their support from a government whose policies are immoral or unjust. He takes issue with the brand of moral philosophy that weighs the possible consequences of civil disobedience against the seriousness of the injustice. The methods of resistance Thoreau condones in his essay are pacifist and rely principally on economic pressure; for example, withholding taxes in order to drain the State of its resources and hence its ability to continue its unjust policies. The ultimate goal of civil disobedience is not to undermine democracy but to reinforce its core values of liberty and respect for the individual. Individual conscience and morality
Only an individual can have and exercise a conscience. By definition, both the State and corporations are impersonal, amoral entities that are nonetheless composed of individuals. "It has been truly said, that a corporation has no conscience; but a corporation of conscientious men is a corporation with a conscience." An individual has a right and an obligation to "do at any time" what he deems right, to exercise his own conscience by refusing involvement or complicity in a government that enforces unjust policies. Civil disobedience is a necessary expression of individual conscience and morality, an attempt to reconfigure the relationship between the individual and the State by making the latter more equitable and less burdensome in its treatment of the former. While supportive of democratic principles, Thoreau does not believe in settling questions of fundamental moral importance by majority opinion. Limited government
The most ideal form of government is one which exercises the least power and control over its citizens. Thoreau believes that government is an inherently intrusive force that stifles the creative enterprise of the people. His avowed faith in ordinary citizens stands in contrast to the entrenchment of an elite political class that Thoreau perceives as incompetent and ineffectual. His libertarian leanings are, however, tempered with limited support for some government initiatives, such as public education and highway maintenance. Democracy is not the last stage in the evolution of the State, as there is still greater room to recognize the freedom and rights of the individual. Thoreau pushes this line of thinking to its logical limit by envisioning a society in which government is eliminated altogether because men have the capacity to be self-regulating and independent.