Tocqueville's Opinion On The Beliefs Of Americans example essay topic

There have been many views about the differentiations between democratic governments and other governments of the world. One such democracy that has always been of interest has been that of the United States. Philosophers and political thinkers alike have tried to analyze and have given their opinions on many issues that make the American government and society unlike any other. Alexis De Tocqueville, a liberal French aristocrat, political enthusiast, and author wrote Democracy in America to express his observations regarding the new form of democracy represented by Americans. Tocqueville addressed many topics that set America apart from other counties, including the philosophy and beliefs that are practiced. One issue that is raised about philosophy comes from the passage "On the Philosophic Method of the Americans".

Tocqueville proposes that even though Americans do not focus on philosophy and do not follow any school of thought, as the Europeans did, they are still able to follow similar methods of thought and reason. Moreover, he said that, .".. in most operations of mind, each American calls only on the individual effort of reason", and that they are "constantly let back toward their own reason as the most visible and closest source of truth". Therefore, even though Americans don't realize it, they follow the same beliefs as Rene Descartes (a French philosopher) by focusing on individual or human reason and judgment. However, by focusing on human intelligence, people tend to doubt anything that can not be easily explained. Furthermore, Tocqueville said that even though America possess the same questioning nature and system of reasoning that originated from the philosophers during the Enlightenment period in Europe, Europeans practice the concept more strictly. However, he held that equality is more prevalent in American than in Europe because of two reasons.

The first reason, according to Tocqueville, is because religion in America is more powerful due to the mixture of people and cultures, as well as because politics are not able to alter faith. Tocqueville also explained that Americans believe in religion without question and therefore, religion imposes it's own regulations and limits that are respected. The second reason that America has more equality than Europe is because there has been no democratic revolution to transform principles that have already been established. Therefore, people are less segregated and have a tendency to exhibit more trust, follow the common interests while still have some liberty to come up with their own ideas and thoughts. Another issue that reveals Tocqueville's opinion on the beliefs of Americans comes from the passage "On the Principle Source of Beliefs Among Democratic Peoples". He explains that in order for any society to succeed, there must be some beliefs that people accept without question and that are based on trust.

As a result, the dogmatic views unite the society because everyone will believe in similar values. Moreover, Tocqueville said, "without common ideas there is no common action, and without common action men still exist, but a social body does not". The dogmatic beliefs are also imperative because man is not able to prove everything that he believes, there is simply not enough time for the investigation. Therefore, because some beliefs are accepted without question, people can spend time examining a few main concerns. However, according to Tocqueville, the downside to dogmatic beliefs is that some freedom of thought is given up, but at the same time it also allows time for concentration on other freedoms. As a result, it is also essential that there be authority to help persuade people on what to accept as true.

During times of equality, democratic people tend to dislike the intellectual authority and focus more on human reason. Therefore, public opinions are trusted over the views of one man or class, as in aristocratic societies. Additionally, people realize that they are comparable to one another and even though they may not trust each other individually, the society as a whole is trusted collectively because it encompasses everyone's thoughts. Furthermore, Tocqueville came to the conclusion that in America the belief in the majority is also the intellectual authority which creates the common principles of society that are trusted without reservation. In addition, majority rule is the basis of politics and law that dominate influence over everyone. In the end, Tocqueville insinuates that intellectual authority in democratic societies will always exist to some extent, but that during periods of high equality people will trust the shared beliefs imposed by the majority.

However, he cautions that equality can produce two outcomes: the first encourages people to develop new ideas and thoughts, and the second can hinder thoughts. Therefore, democratic societies need the proper balance of intellectual authority and individual freedom so that authority doesn't reduce human rationality. Tocqueville proposes many persuasive arguments that support his thoughts about the philosophy and beliefs of Americans. He points out that even though Americans want to form their own judgments on issues, they are constantly pressured to conform to the majority. Thus, equality can be a danger to liberty and can lead to tyranny of the majority. In addition, Tocqueville does a respectable job discussing the fact that people in a democratic society have trouble trusting their equals, but that they still have to believe in some of the same values in order for the society to prosper.

Nevertheless, he fails to point out that there are still many different views that can be contested, and because America is such a diverse society consisting of many cultural backgrounds, not everyone is going to follow the dogmatic beliefs. Furthermore, he also neglects to present a suitable resolution so that the American democratic society can achieve an appropriate balance between liberty and equality in order not lead to despotism. However, Tocqueville's overall perception on the philosophy and beliefs of Americans is convincing.