The Politics of Self-Preservation: Toleration and Identity in Pufendorf and Locke
Shortly after Locke’s return to England in 1689, his support for William’s cause was recognized by the offer of an ambassadorship to Brandenburg.2 It was an important post, not only because Frederick III had assisted William’s invasion, but also because he remained a crucial Continental ally in the ongoing struggle against France. Locke declined the offer, however, no doubt because his exile had been long enough already. Without his circle of expatriates in the Netherlands, most of whom had by now returned to England, as well as his other, Dutch friends, Berlin must have seemed a lonely place indeed, even if Locke’s earlier (1665–66) experience in Cleve, one of Brandenburg’s western territories, would have predisposed him to consider it a favorable context in at least some respects.3
The Inclination to Self-Preservation
Thus far, this study has been concerned with Pufendorf’s social and psychological of description of how people become aware of the content of the law of sociability and the ways in which they feel motivated to act in conformity with these moral norms. I have emphasized that Pufendorf’s observations on habits and passions are central to his understanding of how we come to interact socially with others and take actions to promote sociability. The individual is shaped through interaction with others in society. This chapter examines Pufendorf’s views concerning the inclination or instinct of self-preservation, which (unlike the desire for esteem) is not mouldable and is the most irresistible of our natural dispositions. Pufendorf sometimes uses the term inclinatio and at other times instinctus. Since there is no significant difference between his uses of these terms, I will use the English equivalents ‘inclination’ and ‘instinct’ interchangeably. In what follows, one of my main purposes is to complete the interpretation of Pufendorf’s moral psychology. The question that I want to pose in this chapter is this: What kind of role does the inclination to self-preservation play in Pufendorf’s theory of sociability and his normative natural law theory?
FURUTA INEQUALITY AND ITS RELATED TOPICS
This article is devoted to a brief survey of Furuta inequality and its related topics. It consists of 4 sections: 1. From Lowner-Heinz inequality to Furuta inequality, 2. Ando-Hiai inequality, 3. Grand Furuta inequality, and 4. Chaotic order.