THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

According to Carl Hempel history can be explained through a general law just like the sciences. A general law is a universal conditional proposition. It says something absolutely without exception and that always takes the form of a condition. If we get this first condition we will get that afterwards. There is a connection of cause and event through that conditional nexus. It produces an effect because of the conditions.

Hempel got a simple law that can be read as A Set of events such as C1, C2 and C3 can cause an event known as E. To further understand what Hempel means I would like to use the French Revolution as an example. The French Revolution (1789–1799) was a period of political and social upheaval in the history of FRance. Then, it is our E.


What causes the E? What is the cause of the French Revolution which are the C’s? C1 would have to be political factor and that is the change in structure of the government. Politics controls the entire society at the time and a change in the structure of the government from absolute monarchy to some other form caused widespread division. C2 would have to be the economic factor including the growth of population causing widespread famine. C3 would have to be the social factors such as the struggle of the masses causing some sort of social upheaval. What are the laws that will prove that our C1, C2 and C3 will cause the E?


In politics, whenever there is a change in government what follows are social upheavals. Our C1 had the law that “evils of society arose from defective social institutions, and that there was more than enough wealth for all, if it were only distributed equally” (Malthusian Theory) which means that the government of the time being a monarchy was not able to provide for the needs of the people and thus the constituents called for another form of government. As always, the conflicting interest of those that are supporting the present state will go head to head with the ideas of the new system. During the revolution, the supporters of absolute monarchy were battling against the Enlightenment and its ideas of nationalism and equality.


The C2 or economic factors as always is one of the most influential events to cause a revolution. According to Adam Smith “increase of population among the poorer classes is checked by scarcity of subsistence.” The poor people not being able to suffice for their needs would resort to other means and cause social upheaval. Malthus also stressed that “population if unchecked grows at a proportionate rate (1..2..4..8..16..32) while food only increases at an arithmetic rate (1..2..3..4..5..6).” The population rate at the time was increasing and the people were not able to produce food supply to provide for their increasing number.


The C3 or the social factors are the struggle of the masses. According to Karl Marx, there is always a struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie that will caused a certain kind of movement. During the French revolution, the masses held up arms to battle the nobles. The Marxists view the entire period (there were numerous revolts led by different groups) as one inseparable and inevitable process that represented the decisive stage between feudalism and capitalism . The Revolution ultimately occurred because of a growing discrepancy between public pretension and economic reality. In the Old Regime, land ownership was the basis of privileged position the nobility enjoyed. This arrangement became increasingly obsolete because of the rise of commerce gave rise to the numbers and economic power of the bourgeoisie. The aristocratic landed order still retained social predominance despite economic eclipse. Although still dominant in virtually every aspect of society, the nobles resented the growing influence of the bourgeoisie and wished to stifle the lower classes


I will agree with Hempel but I also would like to stress that not all laws will apply to a particular event because history is always is unique in some way. It is not always the same. It is changing and we cannot predict the outcome of an event by using a law. It is not like science where one leads to another. History is not.

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Sources:

Staloff, D. (1995). The search for a meaningful past philosophies,
theories and interpretations. NY: The Teaching Co.

Hempel, C.G. (1942). The function of general laws in history. In
The Journal of Philosophy, 39, 35-48.

French Revolution. Retrieved October 20, 2008 from
http://www.wikipedia.com/ French revolution


French Revolution. Retrieved October 20, 2008 from http://www.conservapedia.com/French_Revolution


Theories of population. Retrieved Oct 20, 2008 from.http://www.newadvent.org/theories


Malthus. Retrieved October 20, 2008 from http://www.wikipedia.com/malthus