Of course, we are dealing with the Declaration of Independence. They aren't in alphabetical order, but they are in order of length. Was that just a literaary tool used by Jefferson, or did he place them in order of importance?
2007-09-11 07:23:33 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
They were put in that order purposely. They are in the order of importance.
You can't have liberty or pursuit of happiness without life. That pretty much goes without saying.
You can't pursue happiness with liberty. If you have no liberty, whatever happiness you have is given you by those who have restricted your liberty.
So now go into the reverse order. Can you have life without liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Sure, lots of people do. Can you have liberty without the pursuit of happiness? Sure. Many people have liberty but don't pursue happiness. But that is their doing, not ours.
In short, Jefferson put these three ideals in the order they need to be in. To have all three, first you must be alive, then you must have liberty. When you have the first two, then it is up to you to pursue happiness. Note, Jefferson wrote PURSUIT of happiness, not that you have a right to happiness. It is up to us to pursue.
Many people feel they are owed happiness. They are not correct and tend to spoil it for the rest of us, as they expect us to give them what they think they need in order to be happy. The pursuit implies working toward your happiness, not trying to convince others to do the work for you.
2007-09-11 07:24:57 · answer #1 · answered by KDCCPA 5 · 8⤊ 0⤋
Actually, it was a literary reference to John Locke, a philosopher who believed that the government derived it's power from the people. He was the antithesis to Hobbes (the philosopher, not the tiger), who stated that a ruler did not need to obey his own rules. In Locke's writing, it was "Life, Liberty, and Property".
2007-09-11 15:57:13 · answer #2 · answered by morph_888 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The order of length is important. It is a rhetorical figure called amplification.
2007-09-11 14:57:36 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
obviously without life then liberty and pursuit of happiness are impossible.
2007-09-11 14:38:05 · answer #4 · answered by Loren S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
not sure,but they are important to everyone,and we are
encouraged to go fo what makes us as human beings,long as
it's ok(legal,moral,etc.)happy.
2007-09-11 14:29:39 · answer #5 · answered by wendy c 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋