[sandyforever]

I have a philosophy paper to write and my topic is "Is it right to force democracy on other countries" I need to find example of philosophical theories made by philosophers that either go against or for this question. I would really appreciate any type of help on how to approach this question and I would also appreciate the help. Thank You

[Fr_Chuck]

The issue with democracy is that it will easily return to old forms if that is the peoples desires, since they will allow it to happen. We see it all the time in areas where we set up governments.

Democracy ( of course that is not the US form of government we are republic) never works well, unless it is fought far and desired by the people.

[sandyforever]

Do you have any examples of any philosophers that maybe oppose this idea or agree with it. It would really help. Thank You!

[Wondergirl]

Here's one:

"Plato took a dim view of democracy. To Plato, it made no sense that we should proceed to put people in charge who have shaky, or, worse yet, no philosophical positions. A 'democratic' system turns up people to govern on the basis of what the majority of the voters say, a majority which when compared to the number of citizens (non-voting included) is likely in fact to be a minority of people who have no plans, no answers other than that necessary to get themselves elected. Plato may have been right in his views on democracy; the difficulty is Plato's avowed and stated belief that men were unequal to one another. I say unequal, but that is putting it on a too charitable basis. To Plato society was to break down to those few who were to be the philosopher kings, and the rest of us, who were to be treated like labouring beasts of the field. The Platonic view of man is one that is in complete accord with the view of the socialist." --from Plato.

When I Googled "philosophers democracy" (without quote marks), I got all sorts of interesting hits. Do that and/or go to your local public library for more information from the philosophy encyclopedia, etc. Check into Ayn Rand's Objectivism too.

[sandyforever]

Thank You! I am looking into that at the moment. But, I am still having trouble approaching this topic in a way that makes sense I have considered looking in many different aspects and now I feel that I have many ideas but there is no way that they can flow together or even make sense together nicely. For example, I was looking into the idea of militarism and the U.S. basically looking into the idea that America has gotten addicted to War and how democracy is used as an excuse to go to war. Then, I also looked at the concept of Totalitarianism but I am still not sure how to approach it. Can you please help me.

[Wondergirl]

Why can't you just answer the assigned question? Why do you have to wander off onto side topics?

How long is the paper supposed to be?

[sandyforever]

Yeah, I mean I understand what you are saying but the point of this paper is to have theories that philosophers have said to in a sense be your evidence or proofs. And, it is very difficult to find philosophers that have a direct opinion to this topic. So, the reason I am kind of wondering off to other topics is because they have more proof. Right now, I am having trouble finding a clear idea around this topic because we have to not only list the pros but also the cons. It is kind of confusing. The paper has to be around eight pages.

[Wondergirl]

Only eight pages? Piece of cake! (I was thinking you had to whip up 30 pages or more.)

What about chewing around on this sentence:

"Men did not evolve into robots; they did not come to possess the independent spirit, so characteristic of man, by serving others; man came to be the superior being, that he clearly is, because of the exercise of free choice, one of the essential ingredients in the evolutionary process." (from the Plato link I posted earlier)

You're throwing in so many related ideas that you are going to miss making the point that you are supposed to make. And yes, there are whole bunches of philosophers that are, for instance, against the idea that one country should not force another into something such as democracy. Of course, the philosophers don't SAY it that way, but Ayn Rand is big on individualism, so that works into free choice. Emerson and Transcendentalism emphasized individualism, self-reliance, and rejection of traditional authority. (The Classical Essayists.)

Now, what do free choice and individualism have to do with democracy? Do an Intro and define democracy first.

[sandyforever]

So you're saying that I should focus my paper on free choice and individualism and relate it to democracy. Uhhmmm, that is interesting I never thought of it that way. By, doing that then I could answer this question through these two arguments. I kind of understand now. Thank You So Much! You are literally my life saver. See, I am in my last year of high school and I am currently getting a very high mark in Philosophy so I was very scared that I would bring it down because I did not know how to approach this topic.

[sandyforever]

Ohh, can you give me some of the names of the philosophers that are against the idea because I wanted to research them. So I can get a clear understanding! You are truly a Wonder Girl!

[Wondergirl]

Do you know how to build an outline? If so, do that, so you can keep your thoughts in order. Also, keep this simple. Don't scatter your thoughts and arguments all over the map.

Write a thesis statement that will be in your Intro paragraph. The rest of the outline (and paper) will prove or disprove (or both) that thesis statement. Do you have to use both positive and negative proofs from philosophers, or just go one way (pos or neg)?

[sandyforever]

I have to use both (positive and negative) arguments.

[Wondergirl]

If I had a dollar for every paper I ever wrote in h.s. and college and grad school, I'd be able to buy out Donald Trump (maybe). The best thing I ever learned was how to write a good outline. We did that around 4th or 5th grade, and the skill has served me well throughout the years.

I gave you a link to Plato. Read more about his philosophy, especially regarding free choice and individualism. Check into Ayn Rand, the Transcendentalists (Emerson, Carlyle, Wordsworth, and Emerson's friend Thoreau), Nietzsche, and of course Kierkegaard. Check into Camus and Sartre too, just in case you can use them for this paper. Start with Wikipedia perhaps to get a good summary of the various philosophers and what they believed.

On the other hand, "Spinoza denies free-will and establishes strict determinism. Human willing is determined by another cause, that by another cause, and thus ad infinitum. Man has the wrong notion that he is free, because he is unable to know the causes that direct his will."

Do not wander around, but define terms and use examples to make your case clean and clear.

[Wondergirl]

Check into Durkheim and his ideas on anomie. Also, read up on Weber and Marx.

[Wondergirl]

Think individualism vs. social determinism.

[sandyforever]

So your saying to relate social determinism which means that what determines a persons behavior does not depend on their genetic foundation but rather the people around them. Thus, making democracy the ultimate power because an individual has been 'brainwashed' by society that they are unable to think for themselves and making them go along with everyone else into believing that democracy is the ultimate form of government and it should be forced on the world. I don't know if I got what you where saying?

[Wondergirl]

So your saying to relate social determinism which means that what determines a persons behavior does not depend on their genetic foundation but rather the people around them. Thus, making democracy the ultimate power because an individual has been 'brainwashed' by society that they are unable to think for themselves and making them go along with everyone else into believing that democracy is the ultimate form of government and it should be forced on the world.

Yeah, something like that -- social determinism is the excuse for forcing democracy, whereas individualism is the reason for leaving other countries alone and allowing them to have free will and be self determining.

You're going to need 30 pages for this.

Make a list --

Individualism = no forced democracy = philosophers t, u, v, w, x, y, z

Social determinism = forced democracy = philosophers a, b, c, d, e, f, g

Or some such.

[sandyforever]

Ok! I am so excited now! I was reading somewhere that these are two questions I should be thinking about "Are freedom and democracy the same thing?" and "Will democracy imposed by force guarantee the same thing?" Do you think that I am jumping all over the place again?

[sandyforever]

Sorry I meant "Will democracy imposed by force guarantee peace?"

[Wondergirl]

Ok! I am so excited now! I was reading somewhere that these are two questions I should be thinking about "Are freedom and democracy the same thing?" and "Will democracy imposed by force guarantee the same thing?" Do you think that I am jumping all over the place again?

No, it sounds like you are still in the ballpark and are running toward home plate for a home run.

Now, think back on what you were considering writing about. See the difference in where you are now? You are headed toward clarity of thought and concise writing, not flopping around like a landed fish.