The State Of Nature In John Locke Thomas Hobbes And Jean Jacques Rousseau

Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Philosophy - Practical (Ethics, Aesthetics, Culture, Nature, Right, ...), grade: 1,3, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, language: English, abstract: This paper discusses the basis of the theories of Locke, Hobbes and Rousseau - the state of nature, which is used by all three of them as a methodical entity to create their social contract theories . I will first introduce each philosopher and the political context he lived in as well as the different states of nature on which the philosophers based their theories on. I will then compare the states with each other and point out relations and dissimilarities. In my conclusion I will come back to the hypothesis that the three different states have dissimilar intentions and aim towards different governmental systems.

A milestone of political science, Rousseau's 1762 work argues that all government is fundamentally flawed and that modern society is rife with inequality. He proposes an alternative system for the development of self-governing, self-disciplined citizens.

After an old university friend and fellow archeologist's murdered, forensic archeologist Ruth Galloway travels to Lancashire to examine the bones he found, which reveal a shocking fact about King Arthur, and discovers a campus living in fear of a sinister right-wing group called the White Hand.

This reader introduces students of philosophy and politics to the contemporary critical literature on the classical social contract theorists: Thomas Hobbes (1599-1697), John Locke (1632-1704), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). Twelve thoughtfully selected essays guide students through the texts, familiarizing them with key elements of the theory, while at the same time introducing them to current scholarly controversies. A bibliography of additional work is provided. The classical social contract theorists represent one of the two or three most important modern traditions in political thought. Their ideas dominated political debates in Europe and North America in the 17th and 18th centuries, influencing political thinkers, statesmen, constitution makers, revolutionaries, and other political actors alike. Debates during the French Revolution and the early history of the American Republic were often conducted in the language of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. Later political philosophy can only be understood against this backdrop. And the contemporary revival of contractarian moral and political thought, represented by John Rawls' A Theory of Justice (1971) or David GauthierOs Morals by Agreement (1986), needs to be appreciated in the history of this tradition.

With the publication of The Social Contract in 1761, Jean-Jacques Rousseau took his place among the leading political philosophers of the Enlightenment. Like his contractarian predecessors (Thomas Hobbes and John Locke), Rousseau sought to ground his political theory in an understanding of human nature, which he believed to be basically good but corrupted by the conflicting inteerests within society. Here self-interest degenerated into a state of war from which humanity could only be extricated by the imposition of a contract. As a party to the compact, each individual would find his true interest served within the political expression of the community of man, or the "general will." What is the content of human nature and how does it compel mankind to come together to create a civil society? What form does this society take? What benefits does it offer its citizens, and what must each individual sacrifice to reap its rewards? How does sovereign power manifest itself, and what consequences follow for those who choose not to abide by the "general will"? Does Rousseau's political theory set forth a blueprint for democracyone that results in equality, universal suffrage, and popular sovereigntyor is it a recipe for central state totalitarianism? These are just a few of the complex questions that will confront readers of The Social Contract. Whatever their intent or iltimate result, Jean-Jacques Rousseau's views on the state and man's relationship to it have culminated in one of the most powerful and compelling pieces of political philosophy ever written.

In this study of the origins of liberalism in political thought, Andrzej Rapaczynski examines the political theory of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. Convinced that the Aristotelian and medieval world views no longer provided an adequate framework for the ordering of political life, these three thinkers sought to reconstruct the philosophical foundations of politics.

Robin Douglass examines the relationship between Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, two of the most important figures in the history of modern political thought. He explores and evaluates the differences between them, and advances an original interpretation of Rousseau's political philosophy.

Written during a moment in English history when the political and social structures were in flux and open to interpretation, Leviathan played an essential role in the development of the modern world.