“Fanfare for the Common Man” ¹

     The Early Modern era of philosophy fell roughly between 1500 and 1789, or from the "age of discovery" (the voyages of Columbus circa 1492) up to the "age of revolution" (the French Revolution began in 1789). It was the beginning of the end for the Dark Ages, with science shining a new light, exposing many centuries of superstition and religious dogma. As man came to understand that the earth was neither flat nor the center of the universe, these concepts had far reaching repercussions, and influenced, among other things, the ideas of God, government, and divine right. One could say that there arose a major shift in power‒ with monarchies and theocracies coming under suspicion... kings and clergy now threatened by enlightened men bold enough to think for themselves. A succession of prominent philosophers became the vanguard of this intellectual revolution.

     These freethinkers began using methods from the new sciences: logic, reason, empiricism; and applying them to the analysis of religious and political systems. From Descartes to Kant; from France, Germany, and the British Isles to the new Americans; and even from the ancient elder statesmen of Greece and Rome, revived by the neoclassicists‒ a new architecture for society was drafted. A “fanfare for the common man” was composed... individuals were to have a say in their own lives.

     The progression is a fascinating one; launching many ideas that we've taken for granted in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. So let's take it in more or less chronological order, and paint in broad strokes for the sake of brevity... beginning with René Descartes' Meditations on the First Philosophy (1641) just a quarter century shy of 400 years ago... What Descartes desired was to know what is true; and he approached this by first doubting everything. What finally remained, in his opinion, was his own conscious mind. “Without doubt I exist... [no one] can cause me to be nothing so long as I think that I am something.” A baby step toward individual autonomy, maybe, but an important one.

     A decade later came Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan, in which he made the case for the commonwealth, a governing body that insures peace and security through a sovereign, or “artificial person.” Although a stringent form of authority, Hobbes claimed it as a far better alternative than man's “state of nature” in which he is basically an animal, constantly at war. By the act of compromise and making a “social contract” with fellow men, individuals could gain a kind of freedom from primal fears and concerns.

     John Locke took the Hobbesian concept of government (the huge, all powerful, “monstrous” sovereign) and argued that, as an entity, its purpose was only to serve as a source of common law for individuals; a means to protect their lives and property. Unlike his predecessor who saw the sovereign as a force not to be questioned or disputed, Locke recommended that citizens should overthrow any government that is not properly protecting its citizens' liberties. And reiterating an idea from classical Greece, he proposed the three branches of government we know today, as a way to keep the powers of leaders in check.

     It is important to interject at this point that there was another subtext to all these evolving political notions‒ a healthy dose of skepticism. Descartes had questioned reality, and later thinkers continued this trend. Up for debate: the existence of innate knowledge; the difference between perception and the physical world; and (from the likes of George Berkeley and David Hume) whether the exterior world exists at all. The implications for religion were palpable. And what had been a geocentric view of the universe became encephalocentric‒ a journey to the center of the mind. The early modernists led the way on this inward trek, and those inclined to think have never looked back.

     What have been the results, here in a very postmodern world? I think it is undeniable that Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, etc. gave us the foundations of democracy, which arguably has already seen its glory days in the West. Even with all the strain added by our technological advances, and an increasingly diverse population, democracy is however still the most just form of government for individual liberties and the common good. The societies on this planet that do not believe in the rights of the common man (or woman) and religious freedom are the same peoples that hate democratic nations the most. It's no coincidence that Europe and the United States are the targets of terrorists. Knowledge and freedom have always been a threat to those who would keep power and wealth to themselves. We who prefer a more just society owe a great debt to the philosophers and plowmen² who laid the groundwork.

¹ “Fanfare for the Common Man” is a musical composition by Aaron Copeland.

² “philosophers and plowmen” is an excerpt from the lyrics to “Closer to the Heart” (Neil Peart/Rush).