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Should the right to vote require a college education?
The best theory so far in ethics is that good judgment of individuals emanates from the development of good character and that has to do with habits, virtues and knowledges concerning how one should live one’s life. Does the study of philosophy develop good character and good judgment?
I’ll take an example of good judgment as I see it: it's impractical to say that beer X is the best beer on earth but there is wisdom in saying that person W is well known and widely respected for his/her views on beer and if he/she says beers 1, 2, and 3 are great beers, chances are great that they are.
Character [moral excellence] can easily be judged by the same method as good judgment was judged.
My conclusion…a high school drop-out can decide their vote by that method and it can be just as sound as a professor of philosophies.
What more can one ask of a political candidate than good judgment and good character.
Character doesn't depend on education. I learned that from direct observation of poor uneducated people who I related to as a social worker as well as my association with well-to-do folks with education.
Politicians have to have a lot of drive to succeed, energy, ego, whatever, along with good judgement or good character in order to be an excellent politician. Politicans have to make stuff happen! A judge can have good judgement and character without that essential drive. A judge evaluates.
I often think that most people are too stupid to vote.....they are so easily fooled and are ruled by base emotions!!!! It's true!!! In the past, I have been too stupid to vote at times(I voted for Barry Goldwater for President)!
Just some random thoughts in response to your thoughts above........
Character doesn't depend on education. I learned that from direct observation of poor uneducated people who I related to as a social worker as well as my association with well-to-do folks with education.
Politicians have to have a lot of drive to succeed, energy, ego, whatever, along with good judgement or good character in order to be an excellent politician. Politicans have to make stuff happen! A judge can have good judgement and character without that essential drive. A judge evaluates.
I often think that most people are too stupid to vote.....they are so easily fooled and are ruled by base emotions!!!! It's true!!! In the past, I have been too stupid to vote at times(I voted for Barry Goldwater for President)!
Just some random thoughts in response to your thoughts above........
Just one of those bad hair days
Nietzsche’s personal crusade was to convince the world that post-Enlightenment morality had little or nothing to do with Christian theology
What kind of college education should the person receive? A B.A., a B.S., an A.A., A Master's or PhD, perhaps an accreditation from a technical college? Where would you draw the line for such a proposal? Then you have to decide which degree the person should have? Nurses, Social Workers, Teachers, Counselors, Computer Specialists, etc. and so on. Once you figure out that kettle of fish, the election is already over and Hilary is in charge. Time to leave the country.
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. " by possibly one of these people Benjamin Disraeli, Alexis de Tocqueville or R. G. LeTourneau in the 17th or 18th century
Sad but likely true. I don't think that a college degree for voters would change this pattern of down fall that democracies face.
public educational biases are already apparent in Grade school.
My son's 3rd grade teacher refers to the President as Mr.?
I asked him if she allowed him to call her by her first name - my son did not even know her first name, as he always adresses her properly.
My daughter's fifth grade teacher ranted about suburban sprawl.
The only purpose to extend the vote to those with college educations is to further indoctrinate potential voters. People like Ward Churchill and his ilk are biased.
Then there is the hypocrisy of Columbia in allowing "i'm a dinner jacket" speak while restricting rotc on campus. Would they give the KKK the same right to express their speech? Then you have Duke adminitrators and professors publicly convicting their own lacross players before they are allowed due process. Not to mention that teacher's unions are clearly democratic.
You can die for your country, get married, have children, drink alcohol in some cases, drive a car at 18 - you should also be allowed to vote, even for candidates I'm against.
Also there would be obvious biases against population segments that get college educated at lower rates - prisoners, people for which English is a 2nd language, certain races, etc..
What more can one ask of a political candidate than good judgment and good character.
Well that of course would depend on the position the candidate is running for . I look for competence and leadership as well as character and judgement . I look at policy positions ,public discourse ,and when applicable voting records to determine credibility
You are correct that a high school drop out is just as competent and worthy of deciding who his representatives are as the valedictorian of Harvard Law school (or a philosopher ) . The right to vote should not be limited by education. Education too often dictates to someone how to think.
"Should the right to vote require a college education?"
I see your point on this, but I still am forced to respond with a resounding "NO!"
Immediately, I thought of three people. One who never set foot on a college campus except for the time when he was hired to mow the grass there. One who never saw the inside of a college building except once, when he watched his wife graduate. Another who took one or two classes that were relevant to his job, but that was it.
They are quite possibly the three smartest people I know. Their logic and reasoning skills are impeccable, even when I disagree with their conclusions. They can all three speak on a wide range of topics with authority, as they are self-taught.
It would be doing them a tremendous disservice to deny them voting rights simply because they were too smart to spend $50,000 for the priviledge of having other people tell them how to think.
How, exactly, do we define "educated," anyway?
I have dual Bachelor's Degrees, one in psychology and one in English (British lit. specialty). I have a Master's in Christian Ministry, and am working on my Master's in Psychology. Yet, to some people, I am ignorant and probably considered too stupid to vote. Ironically, I think it has less to do with my education than what my education is IN and my personal beliefs.
Like I said, I see where you're coming from, but that's the great thing about this country--we're free to believe whom and what we choose.
If you or I are convinced that a group of people doesn't understand the "truth" (as elusive as that term is), then we should strive to educate those folks on our point of view and let them make up their own mind, not dismiss and disenfranchise them simply because they don't see it our way.
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