Social Contract Theory Flashcards
What is the Social Contract?
In moral and political philosophy, the social contract is a theory or model that originated during the Age of Enlightenment and usually concerns the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual.[1] Social contract arguments typically are that individuals have consented, either explicitly or tacitly, to surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority (of the ruler, or to the decision of a majority) in exchange for protection of their remaining rights or maintenance of the social order.
Who are some of the philosophers of own proprietorship over the theory?
Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Rousseau, Immanuel Kant.
What is the starting point of the theory?
An examination of the human condition absent of any political order.
What is the starting point of the theory?
An examination of the human condition absent of any political order.
What is the state of man in the human condition absent of a status of subservience to political order?
A greater propensity to aggress upon the ‘natural’ or ‘inherent’ rights of other individuals for the purpose of the satiation of their own self interest.
Given this human condition, why does there exist justification to advertise the SCT?
There exist an appealing quantity of justification and vindication that is characteristic of consenting to the subordination of the confiscation of certain rights for the purpose of the actualization and manifestation of political order.
Why was Hobbes and advocate of the SCT?
Though the sovereign’s edicts may well be arbitrary and tyrannical, Hobbes saw absolute government as the only alternative to the terrifying anarchy of a state of nature. Hobbes asserted that humans consent to abdicate their rights in favor of the absolute authority of government (whether monarchical or parliamentary).
What is the central assertion of SCT?
The central assertion that social contract theory approaches is that law and political order are not natural, but human creations. The social contract and the political order it creates are simply the means towards an end—the benefit of the individuals involved—and legitimate only to the extent that they fulfill their part of the agreement.
