From Bacon To Rousseau: Moral Education In Early Western Modernity Planning

To understand the relationship between the modernity and moral education,the research is focused on the original time when moral education began to form its modern characteristics founded in the plans of modernity from Bacon,Hobbes and Rousseau's.Bacon presented his modernity plan in the fable of "the New Atlantis" in which the future of modern science and technology comes into view.This was the imagination and creation of modern science which Bacon launched for the modernity.To realize such science dream needs Bacon rebuilding the new moral philosophy which was different from the ancient philosophers' virtue ethics.It aimed to satisfy the body desires and protect the safety of life.Therefore,Bacon initiated the change of the modern philosophers' calling,hoping them be humanity and beneficent and working hard to promote the commonweal,instead of soaking themselves in the pleasure of the contemplative life.The intention of Bacon was to change the identity of philosopher from the political philosopher to the natural philosopher.The latter was indispensable human resources of science enterprises.Once the role of philosopher had successfully converted into the natural philosopher,the beneficent philosopher would creat the goods which are beneficial to the satisfaction and enjoyment of human body and make the promise that the responsibility of a philosopher was to promote the commonweal.The powers that produced and protected the common good were not the virtues as the ancients told people,but the science and technology as the moderns created for people.Although Bacon didn't admit the virtues as the leading and dominate power to achieve the common good,the virtues were necessary in a scientific and technological polity.Firstly,the scientists,the engineers,and the technologists had not only the natural science knowledge,basic skills,and other qualities which were indispensable to do scientific researches,but also the qualities to unite,cooperate with others scientific partners for the common cause on science.Secondly,the natural philosopher on the New Atlantis still had moral and political wisdom which could make them on the one hand realize their responsibility to be a model of a good man for the public,and on the other hand discriminate which the scientific outputs would benefit the public,which not.Thirdly,the residents of the New Atlantis could be of piety,chastity and simplicity to obey the rule of Saloman's House,and of charity,openness,and generosity to equally treat the strangers and willfully welcome them to be their fellow citizens.So the New Atlantis seemed to have polite,kind,humanity residents who sweetly enjoyed the comfortable,peaceful life created by the science and technology power.Hobbes carried on the goals of modernity enterprises for the public good,but what he chose was a different way to achieve it.What his point was that the obstacles to protect the rights of people's lives were the human nature.The wolf-like element made people in the moral predicament.In the state of men without civil society,every man claimed to lawfully have all,and do all.Such unlimited natural rights and freedom could bring about a war of all men against all men.But the dictate of right reason was the law of nature which led people to the way of peaceful life and the protection of life.Although the law of nature taught people how to be protected,it only worked in Foro Interno,can not prohibit the unlawful deeds.So what the necessity for the realization of the security of living is to establish a civil society which had communal and supreme power that could offer the safety guard to peacefully living.However,what guarded the state of peace were not only the supreme power that the commonwealth had was to punish the unlawful deeds which harmed peace and to frighten the desires and passions which impeded the peace among people,such as ambitious,greedy,jealous,but also the peaceful habits and social inclinations which people are taught and cultivated by the state through the education of the state and the regime of the state.The most of teachings are as follows:On the mind dimension,people could be rooted out of the ancients'thoughts which stimulated people's ambition and be taught Hobbes'civil science in the university education which would lead people to know the knowledge on the rights and duties of citizens and to understand the basis to obey the commonwealth and to respect the rights of the sovereign.On the social virtues dimension,people could be guided to do social deeds,to be a humanity,kind,and grateful person,and to be justice of not invading other's lawful property.On the behavior dimension,people woulde be requested to obey the civil law,that is to do the things that prompted the peace and to prohibit the things that harmed the peace.In a word,although the virtues and moral education were reserved in Hobbes'political plan,the status and the nature of them had been greatly modified.In the case of the status of virtues,they were not the community political aims.That means the community did not cultivate the wholeness of a man any more,instead of controlling a man to conformably obey the law and being good at securing himself.In the case of the nature of virtues,they were not the realization of an activity of soul according to the logos any more.What the nature of virtues were either the political and social virtues avail of the peace among people,for example just,kind,and humanity and so on,or of the quality and ability useful for surviving and living,such as the intelligence virtue.As for moral education,it no longer purified the desires and passions of the soul.What moral education had done was to teach people the way of behavior and psychological inclination accorded with the civil law.Therefore,moral education was just part of the education of the state which was an instrument of political targets to protect the civil peace.Apart from such political need,the modern country had no motive to bring moral education into force.On the conclusions,Hobbes's modern political plan had degraded the status and limited the functions of the virtues and moral education.Consequently,Hobbes,s political plan had brought unavoidable moral dilemmas.For individuals,they could not grasp the wholeness of the politics through the strength of the soul so that the powerful Leviathan could easily rule the weakness and impotence of the people,and no longer resulted in the soul's greatness and nobleness.The highest possibility of the modern's soul was bounded on the nature of profit-seeking and the fear of the punishment.And for the commonwealth,it was no longer to be a motherland worth of individuals to attach themselves to,but just a useful vehicle for individuals to survive.Such facts indicated if the vehicle did not work or was broken,the individuals immediately fled away from it without hesitiation.So for such people,there was no such place existed to be called homeland which was worth to be protected and be devoted anything,even including one's own life to.Such dilemmas illustrated some important political problems hidden by Hobbes'political plan,that is the virtues and moral education for human virtues were indispensable for the civil society which were hidden by Hobbes'the doctrine of human nature and his politicaltheory of state.It's Hobbes' political plan widened the gulf between individuals and the commonwealth that result in Rousseau took the responsibility of transformation of modern plan.However,the difference between Rousseau and Bacon,Hobbes was that Rousseau had the insights of the hidden dangers originated from modern science and modern politics.What Rousseau had done through his famous works of "First Discourse "and "Second Discourse" criticized the modern science and modern politics from the point of human virtues,human freedom,and human equality.What modern science had done corrupted the citizens' virtues and corroded the fundamental of the civil society,while although Hobbes' political plan was built on the society contract,it was based on the cheats which the rich imposed on the poor,instead of human freedom and equality.Therefore,the supreme power of Hobbes 'Leviathan was unjust which caused the slavery,cheats,oppression,hardships,and pains among people in political society.Therefore,Rousseau set his thought targets that for people whichever in their personal lives or in their public lives,they should be free as they were in the state of nature.For such target,Rousseau had imagined the greatest moral education plan for the moderns.The plan included not only a personal teaching plan which ran through the first twenty-five yeas of an individual and related to the growth of his body,his mind,and his soul,but also a public teaching plan which involved all of citizens and taught them the social virtues,morals and sentiments of sociability by the great lawgiver and the good institutions.So the moderns would win their liberty crown for their mean and vulgar body desires which not only made people realize their security of their lives,but also made people enjoy their original freedom;not only let people had the gentle and kind sentiments from their consciences such as pity,humanity,but also let people be capable to perform the citizens 'responsibility and to be a good citizen.From the above three modernity plans,the future of modern moral education had appeared its early outline in which the status and the functions of moral education had been rearranged and the substance also had been redefined.Since then,modern science and technology,modern politics,and the pursuits of freedom and equality have become unavoidable frame in the thoughts and construction of modem moral education.Although such three modernity plans seemed a perfect engineering project of human happiness,essentially it was a bet on the way how to realize the human happiness between modern philosophers and ancient philosophers.The modern way was different from the ancient way that pursued the human happiness by the strength of intrinsic soul virtues,which created the human happiness through the extrinsic strength of modern science and modern politics.However,some modern philosopher secretly had a prudent judgement that the trump card was hidden in the problem what virtues were cultivated and how.