The Bill of Rights and Worldviews
About
4/28/2015
The fifth week of classes will focus on the Bill of Rights, which is the first ten amendments of the Constitution containing within forty-six provisions. For the purpose of this class, we will focus on four fundamental rights contained within the Bill of Rights and how they are perceived with respect to four worldviews.
Those fundamental rights are:
- Freedom of Speech
- The Right to Privacy
- The Right to Due Process of Law
- The Ninth Amendment and its declaration that the rights set forth in the Constitution are not the only rights bestowed upon a person
And they will be considered according to the following worldviews:
- 1st Paradigm – Authoritarian
- 2nd Paradigm – Reactionary/Dialectical
- 6th Paradigm – Natural Law/Progressive
- 4th Paradigm – Moderate/Utilitarian/Scientific Logical Positivism – Also, noted that this is the dominant worldview of Western culture at this time, and it is based on empiricism.
Some discussion was also given to the importance of understanding each worldview in order to ascertain certain outcomes. Essentially, granting credence to the ability to see many perspectives and using this understanding to one’s advantage.
Readings:
- Federalism in the United States — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalism_in_the_United_States
- Familiarize yourself with McCulloch v. Maryland and Gibbons v. Ogden