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William Godwin

William GodwinWilliam Godwin (1756-1836).

Table of Contents

  • 1 Ideas
  • 2 Biography
  • 3 Major Works of William Godwin
    • 3.1 Related:
  • 4 Videos
  • 5 Related Products
    • 5.1 An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (Oxford World's Classics)
    • 5.2 The Works of William Godwin: Enquiry concerning Political Justice, Lives of the Necromancers, Of Population: An Enquiry concerning the Power, and More (12 Books With Active Table of Contents)
    • 5.3 Godwin on Wollstonecraft : The Life of Mary Wollstonecraft by William Godwin (Lives That Never Grow Old)
    • 5.4 Romantic Rationalist: A William Godwin Reader
    • 5.5 Caleb Williams (Oxford World's Classics)
    • 5.6 A Short Residence in Sweden, Norway and Denmark and Memoirs of the Author of the Rights of Women
    • 5.7 William Godwin: Philosopher, Novelist, Revolutionary
    • 5.8 The Swiss Family Robinson (Penguin Classics)
    • 5.9 The 2017 FIDIC Contracts
    • 5.10 St. Leon

Ideas

– Humankind is perfectible.

– Reason tends to truth; truth leads to justice.

– Government usurps private judgment and individual conscience; it is the greatest obstacle to human happiness.

– Education and environment determine personality and character.

– There are no rights, only duties; the fundamental moral duty is universal benevolence.

– Nonviolent reform, not revolution, is the only way to achieve political change.

Biography

English political philosopher.

Godwin was educated as a rationalist dissenter from the established church. His political theories formed the basis of anarchism. His version of anarchism being a belief that the state would become unnecessary as human beings developed their powers of moral and political self-determination.

Godwin’s ideal society is intensely equalitarian & a complete anarchy, although he tolerated the idea of a loosely knit democratic transition that would witness the withering of the State. Strongly antiviolence & completely rationalistic he carried his doctrine to the point of total alteration in human relations. Ignoring economics & starting from a highly individualistic psychology, he argued for education & social conditioning as the chief factors in character formation.

William Godwin’s book Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, started in 1791 published in February 1793 is intended to “philosophically place the principles of politics on an immovable basis”. It begins with a summary of those principles.

The turning point in his career was the French Revolution, which spurred him to write his major work, Political Justice, completed in 1793. Though many were disillusioned after the early years of the Revolution, Godwin’s liberalism remained intact. The publication of this work gained him a far-reaching contemporary fame.

In 1796 he renewed an acquaintance with Mary Wollstonecraft. They took up residence together &, with the approaching birth of their child & despite his attacks upon the institution of marriage, were married in 1797. Their brief marriage, ended by the death of his wife, was described as his happiest period.

Major Works of William Godwin

– An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (1793)
– Celab Williams (1794)
– Memoirs of the Author of a Vindication of the Rights of Women (1798)

Related:

  • Mary Wollstonecraft
  • William James
  • William of Ockham
  • William Blake
  • legitimacy

  • Videos

  • Related Products

     
    An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (Oxford World's Classics)

    An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (Oxford World's Classics)

    • Oxford University Press USA
    • Godwin, William (Author)
    • English (Publication Language)
    • 560 Pages - 12/01/2013 (Publication Date) - Oxford University Press (Publisher)
    Check Price on Amazon
     
    The Works of William Godwin: Enquiry concerning Political Justice, Lives of the Necromancers, Of Population: An Enquiry concerning the Power, and More (12 Books With Active Table of Contents)

    The Works of William Godwin: Enquiry concerning Political Justice, Lives of the Necromancers, Of Population: An Enquiry concerning the Power, and More (12 Books With Active Table of Contents)

    • Amazon Kindle Edition
    • Godwin, William (Author)
    • English (Publication Language)
    • 4352 Pages - 08/23/2013 (Publication Date)
    Check Price on Amazon
     
    Godwin on Wollstonecraft : The Life of Mary Wollstonecraft by William Godwin (Lives That Never Grow Old)

    Godwin on Wollstonecraft : The Life of Mary Wollstonecraft by William Godwin (Lives That Never Grow Old)

    • Godwin, William (Author)
    • English (Publication Language)
    • 120 Pages - 10/31/2005 (Publication Date) - Harpercollins Pub Ltd (Publisher)
    Check Price on Amazon
     
    Romantic Rationalist: A William Godwin Reader

    Romantic Rationalist: A William Godwin Reader

    • Godwin, William (Author)
    • English (Publication Language)
    • 192 Pages - 02/01/2017 (Publication Date) - PM Press (Publisher)
    Check Price on Amazon
     
    Caleb Williams (Oxford World's Classics)

    Caleb Williams (Oxford World's Classics)

    • Oxford University Press, USA
    • Godwin, William (Author)
    • English (Publication Language)
    • 416 Pages - 03/15/2009 (Publication Date) - Oxford University Press (Publisher)
    Check Price on Amazon
     
    A Short Residence in Sweden, Norway and Denmark and Memoirs of the Author of the Rights of Women

    A Short Residence in Sweden, Norway and Denmark and Memoirs of the Author of the Rights of Women

    • Wollstonecraft, Mary (Author)
    • English (Publication Language)
    • 320 Pages - 09/01/1987 (Publication Date) - Penguin Classics (Publisher)
    Check Price on Amazon
     
    William Godwin: Philosopher, Novelist, Revolutionary

    William Godwin: Philosopher, Novelist, Revolutionary

    • Marshall, Peter (Author)
    • English (Publication Language)
    • 544 Pages - 05/15/2017 (Publication Date) - PM Press (Publisher)
    Check Price on Amazon
     
    The Swiss Family Robinson (Penguin Classics)

    The Swiss Family Robinson (Penguin Classics)

    • Amazon Kindle Edition
    • Wyss, Johann (Author)
    • English (Publication Language)
    • 254 Pages - 05/29/2007 (Publication Date) - Penguin Classics (Publisher)
    Check Price on Amazon
     
    The 2017 FIDIC Contracts

    The 2017 FIDIC Contracts

    • Hardcover Book
    • Godwin, William (Author)
    • English (Publication Language)
    • 248 Pages - 04/13/2020 (Publication Date) - Wiley-Blackwell (Publisher)
    Check Price on Amazon
     
    St. Leon

    St. Leon

    • Used Book in Good Condition
    • Godwin, William (Author)
    • English (Publication Language)
    • 507 Pages - 03/02/2021 (Publication Date) - Broadview Press (Publisher)
    Check Price on Amazon
  • Last update 2020-06-17. Price and product availability may change.

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