Abstract

This paper relates the concepts of servitude, censorship and emancipation, the point of contact between them being the idea of the necessary consent of the subject and his paradoxical wish not to be free. Etienne de la Boetie, in the middle of the sixteenth century, called it “voluntary servitude”, and claimed that the master’s supremacy does not lie in his power, but in the legitimacy conferred on it by the consent of the servant. During the seventeenth century, the censorship of the Holy Office took the place of the master and regulated free thought and the editing of books. Baltasar Gracian was one writer who confronted this difficulty with ingenuity. A century later, the ideal of emancipation reverts to Etienne de La Boetie’s proposal in the sense of pointing out that the cause of not abandoning the old doctrinal tutelage does not ascribe to an external reality. One response to this paradox was the collective project of the Encyclopedie , led by Denis Diderot.

Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.