Some More Philosophers

Words to Know

• State of Nature:

• Social Contract:

• Noble Savage:

Words to Know

• State of Nature: An imagined time before / without government –

some philosophers try to work out what government is by imagining humans without it

• Social Contract: An agreement, implicit or otherwise, imagined by

political philosophers in an effort to explain the connection between political obligation, consent of the governed, and the power of the state

• Noble Savage: A human being unspoiled by the corrupting

influences of government and society as envisioned first by Rousseau. Peaceful, innocent, possessed by natural dignity

John Locke

• All knowledge gained through experience

• Tabula Rasa

• All we really care about, deep down, is surviving (Locke’s prince and pauper theory)

• Inspired the Founding Fathers of the US (as a Brit – died in 1704)– Due to his take on Social Contract and Inalienable Rights

• Did not buy into the Hobbesian take on life, but instead that I.R. are gained through working for them

Locke and Social Contract

• Connection between society and government for protection purposes

• Silence is consent…if you’re displeased then you have the right to leave or change it (American and French Revolutions)

• So what is the difference between Hobbes and Locke?

Social Contract

• Hobbes:– Social contract existed so anarchy could not.– Society could not revert to its “natural state”

• Locke:– Social contract exists for the greater good of

society and to uphold inherent rights

Jean Jacques Rousseau

• Frenchman who died in 1778

• The more sophisticated the society the more rampant vice and corruption were– Or as Diddy put it back in the 90’s – Mo Money, Mo

Problems

• His writings inspired the French Revolution – he preached about the importance of liberty and how wrong oppressive monarchies were

Rousseau’s Social Contract

• “Man was born free, yet everywhere he is in chains.”– Copied Locke’s theories in a lot of ways (the

whole I.R. thing)

• Rousseau saw freedom and liberty in a little different light– Do the right thing– Includes obedience to authority

Rousseau

• Loved the thought of education reform– Did not believe in the rigidity of schools– Would have been a Montessori kid– Little ones are still in the uncorrupted state,

and should have their spontaneity encouraged…not thwarted!

Contrasting

Hobbes Locke Rousseau

View on Society

Social Contract

Agree / Don’t Agree