Never being one overly beset by retiscence may I proudly introduce to you my (in)famous ancestor Sir Robert Filmer of Kent (b. 1588, d. 1653)!
No doubt a thoroughly charming man ... he unfortunately is usually only remembered for his rather preposterous belief that the English monarchy had a divine right to rule, handed down to them by God, via Adam and the patriarchs of the Old Testament. See Sir Bob's delightful Patriarcha for details! In his defence, Sir Bob did point out that others who saw political power as contractual were inconsistent in their practices by, on the one hand proclaiming that all were free and equal, and yet still claiming that they had supremacy over their wives and children. You could also argue that he inspired John Locke in his thinking (as in, Locke thought that Sir Bob was such a twit he simply had to write something in response).
Sir Robert Filmer ... now there's a legacy!
2 comments:
I alctually love Robert Filmer's argument!!! used him in many an essay at uni!!!
The social contract theory needs some criticism - it is behind (or perhaps a symptom of) the profound move towards individualism in the West. It is also an expression of an ethical voluntarism that locations what is right in what is willed. One of the leading Christian political theologians (Oliver O'Donovan) is a major critic of the Lockean (which is really a Hobbsean) tradition of social contract theory. This doesn't necessarily mean your ancestor was right, but it means he was at least criticising the right guys. :-)
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