What is the only obligation that he feels that a person should assume?
He bases his analysis on two fundamental assertions. First, he maintains that the individual is the source of all moral authority. “The only obligation which I have a right to assume,” he says, “is to do at any time what I think right.” Second, he contends that it is not enough simply to perceive the right.
Why does Thoreau say civil disobedience is a duty?
He thinks that individuals should have a right to protest unjust laws on their own, and that the government should have some procedure in place for doing so. No one should be automatically put in jail just because he/she disagrees with a particular tax or law.
What does Thoreau mean when he says government is best which governs least?
When Thoreau says,”That government is best which governs least,” he means that the government is best and most profitable when it presides over less. In Thoreau’s opinion the government should be for the use of working towards the human conscience.
Who are commonly treated as enemies by the state?
“A very few – as heroes, patriots, martyrs, reformers in the great sense, and men – serve the state with their consciences also, and so necessarily resist it for the most part; and they are commonly treated as enemies by it….”
How does Thoreau feel about people who serve the state?
Thoreau explains that men who serve the state with their bodies or minds, but not their consciences, serve the state “as machines” who “rarely make any moral distinctions.” Those who do not serve the state with their conscience do not make their own ethical decisions, but rather, allow the state to dictate such …
How does the mass of men serve the state meaning the country )?
The mass of men serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies. A very few—as heroes, patriots, martyrs, reformers in the great sense, and men—serve the state with their consciences also, and so necessarily resist it for the most part; and they are commonly treated as enemies by it.
What does serve the state mean?
The legal way to give formal notice is to have the other side “served” with a copy of the paperwork that you have filed with the court. “Service of court papers” means that the other side must get copies of any paper you file with the court.