Frank Li — “All Men Are Created Equal,” Really?

Frank Li begins upward many interesting points and, inwards my view, gets a lot correct inwards this post. It is worth considering inwards that it is comparing of systems yesteryear a mortal that knows both the Chinese together with American.

But Li omits around of the key Western thinking nearly the philosophical footing of liberalism, which distinguishes individuality from personhood. 

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 dilemma arises betwixt individuality together with personhood. On i hand, individuality is unique together with varied together with all individuals are clearly non equal inwards many respects. On the other hand, "personhood" is held to endure the footing of equality amid all humans inwards price of what makes i human. In the West, all persons are "equal earlier the law, for example. This is a key key of Western liberalism together with "American values."

The reasoning for this is that all natural persons "born of the matrimony of human being together with woman" are human beings together with are thence assumed to part the same nature. Persons are "equal" inwards the feel that equally as human beings, persons part inwards the same nature together with thus get got the same dignity, equally good equally the same inherent potential for self-discovery, self-actualization together with self-realization. 

To paraphrase Emmanuel Kant, being rational together with moral agents, persons are ends inwards themselves; therefore, it is never proper to process persons instrumentally equally means. This is the footing for universal human rights, for example, a concept that has been adopted globally inwards the Universal Declaration of Human Rights voted on yesteryear the United Nations General Assembly.

This philosophical distinction of private from mortal is derived from the Western religious innovation of soul, the history of which inwards the West is traced yesteryear to God's breathing life into Adam. The Hebrew term for breath is "ruach," which may likewise translated into English linguistic communication equally "spirit." The Latin root of "spirit" is "spiritus," which way both "breath" equally a natural phenomenon together with "spirit" equally a metaphysical one. 

In this view, all humans inherit that master copy breath of God or "holy spirit" (Hb. ruach ha qodesh) through Adam. This "breath of life" is mutual to all. It is the immanence of God inwards the dry soil equally "the spirit of truth." But this "holy spirit" is God inwards exile, equally were. until a human realizes his or her truthful nature. 

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 similar notion of breath together with spirit is institute Eastern traditions equally chi (qi) inwards Chinese, ki inwards Japanese, together with prana inwards Sanskrit. 

According to perennial wisdom, this truth is discoverable yesteryear anyone at time. For an interesting even out of such self-discovery yesteryear a contemporary Vietnamese Confician, meet the preface to The Monistic Tradition.

With the transition from the mythological historic menses to the philosophical historic menses that occurred inwards the West amongst the ascent of modernity, the mythological concept was institute to endure lacking together with the Enlightenment thinkers. Descartes made a bold stab at it amongst the "cogito." "I recall thence I am" is "Cogito ergo sum" inwards Latin. This was the showtime of modern rationalism. Hume countered amongst his "fork," which assumes that all noesis is either empirical, derived from feel perception, or logical operators, which are empty of content. Hume's analysis institute no delineate of a "soul."

Kant attempted to synthesize Descartes' rationalism amongst Hume's empiricism together with skepticism of "metaphysics." Kant essentially agreed amongst Hume that metaphysics is unscientific. But regarding Hume's fork equally unsatisfactory, he attempted to present why. The Critique of Pure Reason provides a deeper analysis than Hume did, together with i that around persuasion equally a harbinger of cognitive science. 

But inwards showing that neither God nor soul could endure proved yesteryear argument, Kant was left reliant on faith for belief inwards metaphysical objects similar God together with soul unless he could present around rational basis. Kant thought he could present a rational footing for agency that is both rational together with moral based on pure duty to deed universally. He ready this forth in The Critique of Practical Reason in price of the universality of pure duty based on a rational justification of the Golden Rule equally morally compelling for a rational agent.

In the transition from the philosophical historic menses to the scientific historic menses that began inwards earnest inwards the 19th century, Hume's fork prevailed equally the footing for scientific naturalism equally a methodological principle, e.g., expressed equally positivism together with empiricism. However, many equated this methodological regulation of naturalism amongst the metaphysical regulation of materialism, which is brand an illegitimate saltation inwards reasoning based on its ain assumptions. Concluding from absence of evidence naturalistically obtained to non-existence is "magical thinking" inwards that it exceeds the reach together with scale of the assumptions.

But assuming naturalism equally exclusive removes non alone the mythological footing for equality of persons inwards the religious notion of soul but likewise the philosophical footing for personhood inwards the notion of mortal equally rational together with moral agents. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 logical determination of this educate of thought was B. F. Skinner's behavioristic psychology that views humans interns of stimulus-response mechanism, similar other organisms pursuing "utility" together with contending for "scarce resources." That provoked a reaction equally humanistic together with transpersonal psychology, for instance.

When materialistic determinism replaces complimentary will, the concepts of liberty together with responsibleness larn cultural artifacts. The notion of equality of persons underlying the dominion of police rather than men looses its basis. In this case, instrumentality takes over, together with individuals larn means. "Might makes right" equally a "fact of nature." 

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 double criterion of judge is non an number here, since the mighty tin sack privilege themselves, e.g., based on demonstrated "merit" together with controlling the levers of power. "The lilliputian people" are, well, lilliputian people, unless they get got the impetus together with wherewithal to stand upward up together with bring together together. The challenge of the "mighty" is to brand certain this doesn't occur yesteryear peachy threats equally it arises, or yesteryear creating weather condition that permanently weaken whatsoever opposition to foreclose threats.

This inquiry of equality is i of the enduring questions amongst which humanity is struggling now, although most people get got no thought of the issues, the stakes, or the history of the debate surrounding them. This results inwards around of the paradoxes of contemporary liberalism together with the confrontation of liberalism amongst traditionalism globally, together with humanity at this phase of its evolution lacking the way to bargain amongst this without conflict of ideologies together with interests. 

In addition, the electrical current debate nearly inequality is framed inwards price of individuality together with unequal distribution, when the of import issues prevarication much deeper inwards price of personhood together with rights.

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“All Men Are Created Equal,” Really?
Frank Li | Chinese ex-pat, Founder together with President of W.E.I. (West-East International), a Chicago-based import & export company, B.E. from Zhejiang University (China) inwards 1982, M.E. from the University of Tokyo inwards 1985, together with Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University inwards 1988, all inwards Electrical Engineering