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The Pros And Cons Of The Social Contract Theory

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First of all, the social contract theory, is the view that persons ' moral and political obligations are dependent upon a contract or agreement among them to form the society in which they live. This means that in order to live in a good society people must follow established rules and not act on their own natural state.This social contract theory is associated with modern moral and political theory and is given its by Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau are the best known proponents of this enormously influential theory. A little bit of background of Thomas Hobbes, he born in 1588 and died in 1679,he also lived during the most crucial period of early modern England 's history. To have a better understanding on the …show more content…

After these contracts are established, however, then society becomes possible, and people can be expected to keep their promises, cooperate with one another, and so on. I believe that thanks to the social contract we created justice and established what is moral and immoral for the whole society and not only on what we think could be moral or immoral. This topic may be controversial for some people because they will probably think that even though the social contract was created to be equal for all people there are some things until today that does not apply for all. But for me that is not a strong reason to do not believe in the Social contract I strongly believe in this theory because this is what makes a civil society with justice and morality. A philosopher Stuart Rachels suggests that, “ morality is the set of rules governing behavior that rational people accept, on the condition that others accept them too”. For me this have a meaning that if we follow those guidelines we are being morally good, we can live morally by our own choice and if not probably we will have consequences and not just because a divine superior requires us live in morality. Even though I am a strong believer in God not all people is, therefore the social contract will apply for all

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During the 16th and 17th century, Europe went through political disputes regarding government which created uproar and conflict. English philosopher Thomas Hobbes published his document Leviathan during the War of Religion in 1651. The War of Religion was a time period in which Europe was trying to establish its religion between Catholic and Protestant (Huguenot). The Holy Roman Empire in particular had tension about religious beliefs due to the Peace of Augsburg which entailed each ruler to establish a religion for their state, also known as a confession. The Peace of Augsburg also entailed that when a new ruler came into power, they could keep or change the confession of that state and its practices.

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The social contract is the idea of trusting others in exchange for general security. Friendship is another term used to describe the social contract. The social contract allows for a better more peaceful society until someone breaks the contract. In the book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck two men are searching for jobs during the Great Depression. The book describes one who is mentally challenged, Lennie, and another one who cares for Lennie, named George.

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Social contracts were proposed with the intentions of creating

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The social contract is the idea of trusting others in exchange for general security. Friendship is another term used to describe the social contract. The social contract allows for a better more peaceful society, until someone breaks the contract. In the book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck two men are searching for jobs during the great depression, one who is mentally challenged, Lennie, and another one who cares for Lennie, named George. Lennie is continuously getting into trouble and causing problems for George.

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The social contract in John Locke’s declaration is the State of Nature. The natural condition of mankind is a state of perfect and complete liberty to conduct one’s life as one best sees fit. Locke’s social contract is best described as freedom from the interference of others in one’s life. The State of Nature is pre-political, but it is not pre-moral by today’s standards. Another social contract from Locke is the Law of Nature.

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The social contract theory comes to effect when individuals are keen on leaving the state of nature, which entails a time of chaos and lawlessness. Hobbes views this state of nature as states of war where there are individuals constantly seeking to destroy each other in the constant quest for power. Whilst Hobbes believes that life in this state of nature is “nasty, brutish, and short,” Locke holds a more optimistic view of the state of nature. In Locke’s view of the state of nature, all men are free “to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of

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Throughout the past month, we have read and discussed both The Social Contract by Jean-Jaques Rousseau and The Racial Contract by Charles Mills’. As I said before, the two philosophers derive from very opposing backgrounds, their literary works theorize vital agreements between the members of a society that unite them for the overall benefit of its citizens. Each philosopher addresses the elements and ideas, but Charles Mills’ tackles the elephant in the room involving the issue of race. Because of his ability to see the need for this unspoken issue to be incorporated, I believe that Mills' Racial Contract is more persuasive. Both Rousseau's Social Contract and Mills' Racial Contract are inferred agreements that are existent throughout

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One of Socrates' main reasons for refusing to escape prison is because he is committed to a social contract. In essence, the social contract is the implicit agreement between Socrates and the polis. It argues that if Socrates stays in Athens, he tacitly agrees to abide to Athenian laws. Socrates explains the concept of the social contract when he imagines how the laws would depict it. The laws explain “whoever stays here...

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Therefore, individuals would have to sacrifice their freedom for security and safety which is called the social contract.   From many people Thomas Hobbes theory has been compared to the famous novel, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

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A social contract is where a group of people work and protect each other and give up some freedom. Law of nature are things we know are good and bad. These are some of the terms but there were more. A famous person I learned about in this unit is john locke. He was an enlightenment thinker.

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There were many philosophers in the 17th and 18th century that influenced and inspired the founders of our country. For instance, John Locke believed that life, liberty, and property should be our natural rights as humans and if the government could not secure these rights then the people could get rid of them. That idea impacted Thomas Jefferson when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. This was the perfect time to develop different theories and contradictions because this was right around the time of the printing press and protestant reformation where people started to question the catholic church. Other philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Rousseau impacted founders like George Washington and James Madison who have positively affected this country in many different ways.

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Both social contract philosophers defended different views about moral and political obligations of men living in the state of nature stripped of their social characters. The state of nature illustrates how human beings acted prior to entering into civil society and becoming social beings living under common legitimacy. The state of nature is to be illustrated as a hypothetical device to explain political importance in the society. Thomas Hobbes, propounded politics and morality in his concept of the state

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Hobbes developed the ‘social contract theory’, which is the idea that civilians give up some of their freedom and liberty for protection from the leader. This concept, which was used during Hobbes’s time, is still a part of the government today. Hobbes brings down this concept in his world famous book, Leviathan. A picture of a ‘giant’ monarch holding onto a tiny world is used to describe his version of the social contract. The drawing depicts the trade of freedom for safety.

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Summary Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) theory of social contract, which states that we need moral, legal rules because we want to escape the state of nature which is solitary, poor, brutal, nasty, and short. In this state, a man can kill others, and there are limited resources. This can soon lead to a state of war in which we are constantly disposed to harm others to achieve our goals. So, in this state of war if a person was to possess a beautiful house or property, and had all the comforts, luxuries, and amenities to lead a wonderful life; others could come and harm him and deprive him of his fruit of labor, life, and liberty. Therefore, the state of nature is that of fear, violence, and distrust.

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Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau have become known as three of the most prominent political theorists in the world today. Their philosophies and innovative thinking is known worldwide and it has influenced the creation of numerous new governments. All three thinkers agree on the idea of a social contract but their opinions differ on how the social contract is established and implemented within each society. These philosophers state, that in order for the social contract to be successful people need to give up certain freedoms in order to secure fundamental protections from the state, henceforth the state then has certain responsibilities to their citizens. Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau all believe that before men were governed we all lived in a state of nature.

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