Larry Siedentop
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Inventing the Individual: The Origins of Western Liberalism
12 editions
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published
2014
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Democracy in Europe
10 editions
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published
2000
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The History of Civilization in Europe
by
205 editions
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published
1828
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Tocqueville
5 editions
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published
1994
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The Nature of Political Theory
by
2 editions
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published
1983
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Politik dalam Perspektif Pemikiran, Filsafat dan Teori
by
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published
1986
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Americans in Exile
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De uitvinding van het individu
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“Christianity changed the ground of human identity. It was able to do that because of the way it combined Jewish monotheism with an abstract universal that had roots in later Greek philosophy. By emphasizing the moral equality of humans, quite apart from any social roles they might occupy, Christianity chagned "the name of the game". Social rules became secondary. They followed and, in a crucial sense, had to be understood as subordinate to a God-given human identity, something all humans share equally. Thus, humans were to live in "two cities" at the same time.”
― Inventing the Individual: The Origins of Western Liberalism
― Inventing the Individual: The Origins of Western Liberalism
“Christianity took humanity as a species in itself and sought to convert it into a species for itself. Thus, the defining characteristic of Christianity was its universalism. It aimed to create a single human society, a society composed, that is, of individuals rather than tribes, clans or castes. The fundamental relationship between the individual and his or her God provides the crucial test, in Christianity, of what really maters. It is, by definition, a test which applies to all equally. Hence the deep individualism of Christianity was simply the reverse side of its universalism. The Christian conception of God became the means of creating the brotherhood of man, of bringing to self-consciousness the human species, by leading each of its members to see him- or herself as having, at least potentially, a relationship with the deepest reality - viz., God - that both required and justified the equal moral standing of all humans.”
― Democracy in Europe
― Democracy in Europe
“What is the crux of secularism? It is that belief in an underlying or moral equality of humans implies that there is a sphere in which each should be free to make this or her own decisions, a sphere of conscience and free action. That belief is summarized in the central value of classical liberalism: the commitment to "equal liberty". Is this indifference or non-belief? Not at all. It rests on the firm belief that to be human means being a rational and moral agent, a free chooser with a responsibility of one's actions. It puts a premium on conscience rather than the "blind" following of rules ... This is also the central egalitarian moral insight of Christianity ... Enforced belief was, for Paul and many early Christians, a contradiction in terms”
― Inventing the Individual: The Origins of Western Liberalism
― Inventing the Individual: The Origins of Western Liberalism
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