An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, Vol. II
- Language:
- English
- Status:
- Selection or partial work
- Authorship:
- Written by the author
- Condition of the text:
- Clean text
- Extent:
- ~200,000 words · 965 passages
Cite this work
- APAWilliam Godwin. (n.d.). An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, Vol. II. SigPhi. https://sigphiai.com/en/works/william-godwin/an-enquiry-concerning-political-justice-vol-ii
- MLAWilliam Godwin. "An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, Vol. II." SigPhi, https://sigphiai.com/en/works/william-godwin/an-enquiry-concerning-political-justice-vol-ii.
- ChicagoWilliam Godwin. An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, Vol. II. SigPhi. https://sigphiai.com/en/works/william-godwin/an-enquiry-concerning-political-justice-vol-ii.
What it is about
The second volume of the work in which Godwin argues that government is a necessary evil only while ignorance lasts, and that coercion, property and even promising become superfluous as reason spreads.
Context and history
Published in 1793, in the middle of the British reaction against the French Revolution; Godwin is said to have escaped prosecution because the book was too expensive to reach the public the government was worried about. One editorial detail matters: he brought out a second edition in 1796 and a third in 1798, softening as he went. The most extreme positions are in the first, which is why anyone citing him should always say which edition they are reading.
Editorial context, not a citable source: unlike the passages of the work itself, these statements cannot be checked against the corpus.
http://www.arcliive.org/details/enquiryconcernin02godwuoft E NQU I RY COMCBBNnra POLITICAL JUSTICE AND ITS INFLUENCE ON MORALS AND HAPPINESS. BY WILLIAM GODWIN. THE FOURTH EDITION. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. IL lEontton: J. WATSON, 5, PAUL'S ALLEY, PATERNOSTER ROW, 1842. 3C 1062483 f CONTFNTS OF VOL. II. V Pa»e. CHAP. II. Of Religious Establishn^ents 1 12 CHAP. III. Of the Suppression of Erroneous Opinions in Religion and Government 115 CHAP. IV. Of Tests 121 CHAP. V. Of Oaths 125 CHAP. VI. Of Libels 128 CHAP. VII. Of Constitutions 135 CHAP. VIII. Of National Education 142 CHAP. IX. Of Pensions and Salaries 146 CHAP. X. Of the Modes of Deciding a Question on the Part of the Community 151 BOOK VII. OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS. " CHAP. I. Limitations of the Doctrine of Punishment which Result from the Principles of Morality 154 CHAP. II. General Disadvantages of Punishment 157 CHAP. III. Of the Purposes of Punishment 161 CHAP. IV. Of the Applicationr of Punishment 166 CHAP. V. Of Punishment Considered as a Temporary Expedient 172 CHAP. VI. Scale of Punishment 181 VI CONTENTS OF VOL. II. Page. CHAP. VII. Of Evidence j g9 CHAP. VIII. Of Law 190 CHAP. IX. Of Pardons 199 BOOK VIII. OF PROPERTY. CHAP. I. Preliminary Observations 202 CHAP. II. Principles of Property 207 CHAP. III. Benefits Attendant on a System of Equality 218 CHAP. IV. Objection to this System from the Frailty of the Human Mind 225 CHAP. V. Objection to this System from the Question of Permanence . 228 CHAP. VI. Objection to this