Civil disobedience

Abstract

My intention in this thesis is to consider some of the philosophical questions raised by the issue of Civil Disobedience, in particular the questions 'What is Civil Disobedience?' and 'Is Civil Disobedience Justified?' In the first section I intend building up a model containing those features I think central to an act if it is to be called an act of civil Disobedience. The definition will not be of such a nature as to answer the question 'Is Civil Disobedience Justified?' Thus the question of justification is seen as a separate question from that of definition. In the second section I formulate a second model containing criteria which have to be met if civil Disobedience is to be justified. Before doing so, however, I consider some of the arguments purporting to show that Civil Disobedience is never justified and argue that they are either false or have counter-intuitive consequences. In this context many problems arise, in particular 'What is the extent and nature of one's obligation(s) to obey the law and/or a law(s)?' An answer is offered with particular reference being made to the Civil Disobedient. Having formulated a model containing the defining characteristics of an act of Civil Disobedience and a model containing the criteria to be met by an act of Civil Disobedience if it is to be justified, I then discuss these in the light of the Civil Rights Movement and the Anti-War Movement. In this third section, I ascertain whether or not those activities performed by the people involved in such movements are, given the first model, acts of Civil Disobedience and if so whether, using the criteria in the second model, they are justified. In doing this I make reference to the 'benefits' of using such models in this manner, e.g. conceptual clarity and clarification of issues. The two movements emerge as complex phenomena involving not only acts of Civil Disobedience but many other forms of protest including dissent and non-violent resistance. Those acts which are Civilly Disobedient ones are, I maintain justified ones. Such a decision is made on the basis that the four criteria of the model of justification are met, but in so deciding it becomes necessary to adopt certain positions on more wider issues such as Segregation, Democracy and the Morality of War. Thus in these particular cases of Civil Disobedience the problem of justification becomes interconnected with broader issues.