The enlightenment's struggle with slavery and the rights of man

1. The enlightenment's struggle with slavery and the rights of man

2. The State of Nature of Man “All Men are naturally in [. . . ] a State of perfect Freedom to order their Actions, and dispose of their Possessions and Persons as they think fit”  Man is in a “State also of Equality, wherein all Power and Jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another [. . . ] without Subordination or Subjection, unless the Lord and Master of them all should by any manifest Declaration of his Will set one above another, and confer on him by an evident clear appointment an undoubted Right to Dominion and Sovereignty. “ "Though Man in that State have an uncontrollable Liberty, to dispose of his Person or Possessions, yet he has not Liberty to destroy himself, or so much as any Creature in his Possession , but where some nobler use, than its bare Preservation calls for it."

3. "Law, teaches all Mankind, who will but consult it: That being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his Life, Health, Liberty or Possessions" "Being Furnished with like Faculties [. . .] there cannot be supposed any such Subordination among us, that may Authorize us to destroy one another, as if we were made for one another’s uses, as the inferior ranks of Creatures are for ours." – Locke State of Nature • Man is free to use his property according to his will • Man is equal except when God places him above another • Man is not free to destroy himself or the creatures in his Possession unless there is a nobler purpose for that creature • No man ought to harm another in his Life, Health, Liberty or Possessions • There cannot be any distinctions between men that give them the authority to destroy one another as they would a creature of inferior rank

4. Locke's Chapter on Slavery "The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but to have only the law of nature for his rule." "This freedom from absolute, arbitrary power, is so necessary to, and closely joined with a man's preservation, that he cannot part with it, but by what forfeits his preservation and life together." 1 man cannot not give up his life, or enslave himself unless he commits an act that deserves death.  The man that gains power over him, can use him in his service, but cannot injure him.  When a man no longer wants to be enslaved he has the right to die. 

5. Conditions for Slavery  The "perfect condition of Slavery, which is nothing else, but the State of War continued, between a lawful Conqueror, and a captive." His definition of war is a state of "enmity and destruction" brought about by one person's pre-meditated attempts upon another's life. The law of self-preservation, a part of the law of nature, gives a person rights to fight and kill in self-defense. So when a man goes to war he does so knowing he "has exposed his life to the other's power to be taken away by him." Because a man's life and his liberty are esentially the same, if he is beaten in war he gives up his liberty to his conqueror.

6. John Locke's First Treatise of Government: • "Slavery is so vile and miserable an estate of man, and so directly opposite to the generous temper and courage of our nation; that it is hardly to be conceived, that an Englishman, much less a gentleman, should plead for it. And truly I should have taken Sir Robert Filmer’sPatriarcha, as any other treatise, which would persuade all men, that they are slaves. . ." • Slavery by the divine right of a monarch is vile and miserable.

7. John Locke's Second Treatise of Government: • "Man, not having the power of his own life, cannot, by compact or his own consent, enslave himself to anyone, nor put himself under the Absolute, Arbitrary Power of another to take away his life as he pleases. Nobody can give more power than he has; and he that cannot take away his own life cannot give another power over it." • Man can forfeit his life only if he has committed some "Act that deserves Death."

8. James Farr: Locke, Natural Law, and New World Slavery • Farr claims that Locke is solely responding to Filmer • "For he was fully informed or involved in colonial slavery, the slave trade, and new world conditions for Africans, and English colonists." (497)  • Too involved to much such a weak argument.

9. Jennifer Welchman: Locke on Slavery and Inalienable Rights • "The man whose career I've just described to you is not a man likely to construct or defend a theory of political or natural rights incompatible with slavery. Nor does it seem likely that 'the shores of Africa and America' were ever far enough from Locke's thoughts to account for an oversight of the magnitude Farr attributes to him." (75) • "One does not have to be the victim of violent aggression oneself to have the right, even the duty, to restrain or punish the aggressor. In a state of nature, everyone has the right and duty to enforce God's injunction against acts prejudicial to human preservation." (78)

10. Jennifer Welchman: Locke on Slavery and Inalienable Rights • "Consequently, it would be sufficient to enslave a man in sub-Saharan Africa if he was known to have threatened at least one person or if he had tolerated or concurred in one such assault. It would not be necessary that the captor be the person attacked, nor would it be necessary that the captive remain in his captor's hands. Being property, the captive might be sold, bartered, or given to whom ever his captor pleased--even Europeans." (79) • This interpretation opens its own world of problems • Divine right of kings • Anarchy

11. The Slavery Problem • When "what it means to be human" confronts slavery there are inherent contradictions.  • The "equality" of man that embodies the spirit of Enlightenment thought gives rights to human beings that are blatantly denied to slaves.  • Locke's theories on slavery contradicts his own notions of the "Liberty of Man," why? • "To begin to question the existence of slavery itself, rather than deploring the situation of individual slaves, was thus in Enlightenment terms to have to think thoughts which were not only difficult but which also logically involved the dismantling of a profitable, successful, and globally organized economic structure." Outram p.65

12. The Slavery Problem cont... • The truth about Locke and slavery •  Locke was heavily involved in the government, especially in regards to it's economic welfare. He was very aware of and involved with colonization and the practice of slavery. • He invested in the slave-trading Royal Africa Company (1671) and the Company of Merchant Adventurers to trade with the Bahamas (1672). He later sold his shares in the Royal Africa Company for a substantial profit. • Whether or not Locke was personally against slavery, the slavery caveat in his essay is attempting to justify an existing, well established practice.  • Enlightenment thinkers all faced the same problem, applying new thoughts to a society built on old ones.

13. The Shift in the Enlightenment • Descriptive Approach • Giving explanations for societal standards • Locke • Prescriptive Approach • Seeking to change societal standards • Equiano