Founding Fathers reading list.
Posted by coaldigger 6 years, 1 month ago to History
I have been reading a lot about the Founding Fathers, and other historical figures, in my retirement so I thought their reading list would be very interesting. It turns out that this essay has a lot of topics relevant to what we spend a lot of time discussing in this forum. I think it also displays a different outlook that a Libertarian has from an Objectivist. I sometimes think that people look at the world through a telescope, half from the big lens and half from the small lens. They see things very differently but neither is reality.
I am interested in the virtue vs effeminancy. The word is sexist, but I can look past that. It seems like the ancient history was close to understanding, but not quiet getting it. This view doesn't define what virtue is or what luxury is. The virtue, IMHO, is interacting with people in mutually agreed trades not using force. Luxuries, in the sense of having more and more things we want, are a good thing and are the result of people working together in honest trades.
I like reading this because I can imagine the Founders working through similar issues over 200 years ago.
"half from the big lens and half from the small lens."
Is one lens long range (telescope) and another short range (microscope)?
Thanks for posting this article.
Objectivist think that a moral code of ethics is built in and to some degree I agree, but... that is not true for everyone. Everyone is not conscious to the same degrees, not uniformly mentally healthy nor have the same degree of control over their bicameral brain's temptations.
What the founding fathers agreed on is that there should be a universal code of ethics and morals because it's not relative or subjective, that is the cause of chaos, not to mention we need a fair yard stick in which to measure the behavior of men but it is true that a fully Conscious man is a moral man.
It was amazing that our forefathers had very similar readings and the different points of view contributed to the narrowing down of first principles that could be agreed upon.
I see that the viewing through the small end and the large end of the looking glass necessary in that process.
Looking through the small end sees the past and highlights the present where looking through the large end sees the possible consequences of the future. (the future is way off in the distance as in looking through a tunnel-whereas taking the normal view, the past is evident in the present.)