Monday, September 15, 2008
3
Wollstonecraft says that birthright is a function of liberty both from civil and religious perspectives. Her argument that at birth God gave people the rank above animals, therefore it is the responsibility of all humans to obey the equality right. It is not other people who can decide the worth of humanity. The rich and powerful are going against God by using other people as basically their work animals. Men are disregarding God's will by having women only as their mistresses and not giving them the ability to control their own lives. When men take away education for women and the less powerful, they are reducing them to lives of servitude and taking away their right to live a Christan life. The ability to reason allows people to obey God; she argues that these powerful men are taking away education for the poor and women and thus taking away the ability to reason. Wollstonecraft says that people do not have the tools to decide between right and wrong because they were never taught, they were only and always told what to do. This does not make one holy, only a slave. She blames the powerful men for this and explains that a society cannot be holy if every member is not holy. The whole must submit to God, not because they were told, but because that's what they chose. I think she says that these men in powerful positions are supposed to make sure that everyone is treated fairly and that everyone is educated so they can choose God through reason. Wollstonecraft always makes it clear that women are not above men but that all people are on the same level. When women are treated the same as men and given the same opportunity for education as the men, then the women will respond by being better mothers and wives. This will benefit the men as well as the whole society. In other words, love generates more love. Living according to the rules of God leads to more people to God and Christian lives.
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