Lecture One: Liberty

1. John Wilkes

Wilkes is said to have had bad teeth inside a jutted jaw, a mouth that spoke with a lisp. He was however quite charming and had is fair share of lovers which he gazed at with his crossed eyes, he was also a good writer known for being one of the first journalist if you like. He did write an inappropriate piece of text entitle 'Essay on Woman' which caused an amount of scandal no doubt as did his lifestyle of drugs, orgies, alchohal and an insiders knowledge of prison. Wilkes annonomously wrote for the paper North Briton, of which issue 45 is most famous as he visciously insults the King, and people desperatly wanted him arrested. On the brighter side, he is responsible for establishing some laws that journalism still benefits from today. He also helped the common man to vote.

2. Mary Wollstonecraft

Wollstonecraft had a difficult early life with a father that had affairs and was constantly drunk and angry, Wollstonecraft was left to protect and stand by her mother. Having to take on this role may have influenced her ideas. She had to work hard as a governess for little pay but she did endevour to educate herslef by reading Locke, she agreed with his idea of the 'blank slate' and and Rousseau although she didn't like his book Emile. She was only in her early twenties when she wrote the Education of Daughters. Her contribution to the whole idea of Liberty was the encouragement of education for women, which she found freeing. Interestingly Wollstonecraft was a Unitarian, she did not believe in the Catholic trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). She felt that there are no men or women, just people. She had many affairs but did mary Goodwin who actually wrote her biography, completing wrecking her reputation for about a hundred years; she had so many good ideas for women and for healthy family reputations but the way she lead her own life was contrary to this and therefore possible hypocritical. She did have a daughter, the well known Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein.

3. Liberty ..... what is it accordng to Locke?

Locke wanted to take power from the King and give it to the individual. Why not trust people, give them freedom and power and equality of oppertunity.

4. John Stuart Mill (politics)

At the age of seventeen Stuart Wilkes was in prison for giving out leaflets on contraception. He was the son of philosopher Jeremy Benther who explored th idea of maximising pleasure and minimising pain. Stuart Mill helped women get the vote. He was an intelligent man from the outset, imagine a three year old who could read Greek. He was inspired by the work of William Wordsworth. He believed in the freedom of speech, something will always benefit from being challanged, it makes it stronger if nothing else for we cannot not be so absoloutely sure as to not have or ideas questioned.