Civil Disobedience《论公民的不服从》读后感

The review of

Civil Disobedience

Henry David Thoreau is recognized as an essayist, a poet, a naturalist, a

philosopher

and

most

importantly

a

transcendentalist.

His

masterpiece,

Walden,

is the embodiment of his belief which advocates feelings rather

than senses and promotes individualism. There is also another one reveals

the basic principle of Thoreau, that is the

Civil Disobedience.

In July, 1846, Thoreau was put into jail since he refused to pay a poll-tax

of

$$2.00

to

a

government

he

thought

unjust.

Though

this

event

was

insignificant enough, it inspired Thoreau to write his famous essay,

“

Civil

D

isobedience”

which

advocating

passive

resistance

to

unjust

laws

of

society,

influenced

people

such

as

Mahatma

Gandhi.

Through

Gandhi,

Thoreau’

s theory has become a great tool in political activities.

In order to better understand this essay, the prerequisite is to know one

concept

—

the civil disobedience. Is civil disobedience the same as the

right against the law? What is the difference between them? After reading

the book,

I’

ve got an idea that in some sense they are alike. But civil

disobedience should be described as the resistance against unjust laws

based on conscience. The civil disobedience is a moral right, while the

right against the law is one of the basic human rights. Thoreau stresses on

the

individual’

s effect, so the civil disobedience is very important.

“

Action from principle, the perception and the performance of right,

changes things and relations; it is essentially revolutionary, and does not

consist wholly with anything which was.

”

So even one person who fights

against the unjust law is in minority, his action may still have a great

meaning.

In concerning of the civil disobedience, Socrates comes into my mind.

Contrary to Thoreau, who advocates the resistance against the unjust laws,

he proved by his own action that even the law is unjust, we should also

obey it. In comparison with Thoreau, Socrates gives us a negative

example. The reason for such an action was also revealed by Thoreau in

Civil Disobedience

.

“

Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them,

or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have

succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once? Men, generally think that

they ought to wait until they have persuaded the majority to alter them.

They think that, if they should resist, the remedy would be worse than the

evil. But it is the fault of the government itself that the remedy is worse

than the evil. It makes it worse.

”

So generally speaking, the civil

disobedience is essential in our lives.

The main topic in this essay is the relations between people and

government. According to Thoreau, the individual is a higher and

independent power than the government and the law. The authority of

government is not absolute; it must have the sanction and consent of the

governed. Just as he pointed out

that, “I

think that we should be men first,

and subjects afterward.”