Soc Sci 2 Flashcards
Who was abandoned by his father at an early age; was brough up by his uncle
Thomas Hobbes
He studied at the University of Oxford at 15 years old
Thomas Hobbes
He experienced the turbulent half of the seventeenth century in England (conflict between royalists and Parliamentarians )
Thomas Hobbes
He sought refuge in France because of his association with royalist circles (he was the tutor to Charles II of Wales) and his antiparliamentarian writings
Thomas Hobbes
He was a defender of an absolute government
Thomas Hobbes
He wrote the Leviathan (1651) before he returned to England
Thomas Hobbes
Highlights Thomas Hobbes’ anti-parliamentarian, pro-royalist views
Leviathan (1651)
This work has often been interpreted as a defense for a despotic and absolutist regime
Leviathan (1651)
Referred as ”the first general theory of politics in the English language” (Ebenstein and Ebenstein, 1990),
Leviathan (1651)
A reflection of Hobbes’ political theory, which rests on a theory of human nature
Leviathan (1651)
What are the four theories of human nature?
- Man are equal
- Man is unsociable
- Man is selfish
- Man is rational
What are the three definitions of man that are equal?
in the faculties of mind and body;
in the hope of achieving goals (same desires);
in the exercise of man’s natural right to self-preservation
Man is not naturally sociable because if he were, then societies would evolve naturally. Societies are created through conscious decisions among men.
Man is unsociable
For the preservation of their lives and the protection of their self-interests
Man is selfish
Reason is possessed by men in general, even when they are in a state of nature
Man is rational
It refers to the condition of men prior to the creation of societies
State of nature
For Hobbes, it is a condition of war of all against all (competition, diffidence, and glory)
State of nature
Two cardinal virtues
fraud and force
There is no central authority; the only recourse is _________
self-help
_________ are predisposed to war; they treat each other as enemies
Men
The situation is dominated by ________
fear and danger
The social contract is _____________ that would somehow lessen the insecurity of man in the state of nature
the creation of a political association
It is an ___________________ among men that they will transfer their natural rights (except for the right to one’s own body) to a sovereign entity (the “Leviathan”)
agreement/contract/covenant
Entering the social contract results into the creation of a __________ which was previously absent in the state of nature
central authority
It also results into the creation of a _________________
commonwealth
The basis of the consent of the subjects in forming a Commonwealth is _________________: staying in the state of nature with all its chaos and insecurity would further endanger the life of man
compulsion
Staying in the state of nature with all its chaos and insecurity would further endanger the life of man
Voluntary transfer of rights (following man’s rational decisions)
Mutual transfer of rights (reciprocity); give up right to independent judgment
The sovereign is not a party to the contract: the social contract is an agreement among the subjects themselves
What are the 8 sovereign of power
- The power given to the sovereign is indivisible and non-transferable.
- The sovereign cannot break the agreement because he is not a party to it.
- The covenant is agreed upon by a majority of men; those who initially disagreed must now consent with the rest.
- The sovereign cannot do any injustice because men are the authors of its actions.
- The subjects cannot punish and/or kill the sovereign.
- The sovereign has the right to regulate doctrine, which is important for maintaining peace.
- The sovereign enjoys the power to lay down civil laws.
- The sovereign has the right to decide on cases of conflict of law.
Do the subjects have the right to resist the sovereign?
- The nature of the contract does not give the subjects the right to resist
- The decision to resist must be done on an individual basis because subjects only gain a collective will through the sovereign
Will the subjects resist the sovereign?
Remember the state of nature!
What types of government did Hobbes mention?
Monarchy, Aristocracy, Democracy
He was born to a middle-class family
John Locke
He attended Oxford in 1652 and studied philosophy and science
John Locke
He went on self-exile in Holland (Netherlands) from 1683 - 1689 to escape political persecution from Charles II
John Locke
Laws of nature of Hobbes
- Man must “seek peace and follow it” to preserve his right of nature.
- Men should give up the “right to all things”, when others also do so, to attain peace (reciprocity)
- Men should perform covenants made (justice) with a ”fear of the sword” [fear of punishment] plus sixteen other laws of nature aimed at maintaining peace through a common power
He returned to England in 1689 after the end of Glorious Revolution
John Locke
He wrote to defend the supremacy of the Parliament
John Locke
His main work is entitled “Two Treatises of Civil Government”
John Locke
