Guilt and shame in some thoughts about education and Robinson CrusoeIn 17th and 18th century England, a major transition was occurring; attitudes were evolving towards a more sensitive outlook, in which the “warrior” mentality of ancient times fell out of fashion, in favor of sensitive “gentlemen”. These gentlemen were expected to be morally sound, well educated and “enlightened”. Yet despite all of this, men are still expected to be masculine to be able to take control of a situation or solve a particular problem. John Locke postulated that all of this could be encouraged in young men through their education. Unfortunately, he found that no educational program at the time was up to the task. He argued that one of the primary goals of education should be responsible self-government, or the ability to correctly determine what to do and what not to do without ordering from an outside authority. This ideal became very fashionable among sensible people, at this time many Englishmen (as well as other Europeans) wanted to be so morally upright that they only had to answer to themselves. Locke, of course, had some thoughts on this subject, and those thoughts mainly revolved around (of all things) shame. Some Thoughts on Education were first published by Locke in 1693. The ideas they advocated were progressive, even by today's standards. One point he makes very clearly is that physical rewards and punishments (as a system to encourage morally correct behavior) are ineffective in raising children to become responsible and moral adults (38 – 39). . As an alternative, he suggested the following: Esteem and disgrace are, among all others, the most powerful inducements to the mind, when once it is brought to relish... middle of paper... …other is standing nearby with a look of contempt, but true self-government is much more than that. Locke knew this to be true, and I think it's obvious that Defoe agreed emphatically enough to base one of the most successful novels in history on very similar views. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1962 Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe. New York: Bantam Books, 1991 (“Defoe”)Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe, Norton critical edition. New York: WW Norton and Company, Inc., 1975 (“Norton”)Locke, John. Some Thoughts on Education, The Works of John Locke, vol. 9. London: 1823 Moore, C. Contexts of English Literature 1700-1760. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1953 Yolton, John W. John Locke and Education. New York: Random House, Inc..., 1971