IDEOLOGICAL
PHILOSOPHERS
HOBBES, LOCKE, & ROUSSEAU ANSWER THE THREE
BIG QUESTIONS
Social 30
Before we begin, a couple questions…

Do you believe that people are born inherently:
 Good
 Neutral
 Evil

What has your church taught you?
Application to our Philosophers

Our philosophers would all answer the previous
question differently
 Hobbes
 Locke
– born “evil”
– born “neutral”
 Rousseau

– born “good”
However, they all fail to take Christ into perspective!
The Big Three Questions

What are humans like?
What is the nature of society?
What is the role of the individual in society?

Use of force?


Social Contract
Theory


Was a widely held enlightenment theory that all
three of our philosophers held to
Social Contract is the belief that:
 “individuals
have consented to surrender some of their
freedoms to the authority of a ruler, or to the decision of
a majority, in exchange for protection of their remaining
rights.”
Thomas Hobbes 1588-1679
Born in England
•Studied at Oxford University
•Tutored the Prince of Wales,
later King Charles II
•His work serves as the primary
foundation of Western political
philosophy
•
Hobbes: Leviathan

Hobbes argues for the existence
of governments – originating
from “Social Contract Theory”
 Without
government, people
would have a “right” to
everything in the world, leading
to a “war of all against all”
 Humanity is inherently selfish
Hobbes: Leviathan 1651
In such condition, there is no place for industry;
because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and
consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation,
nor use of the commodities that may be imported by
sea; no commodious building; no instruments of
moving, and removing, such things as require much
force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no
account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and
which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger
of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor,
nasty, brutish, and short.
"Chapter XIII.: Of the Natural Condition of Mankind As Concerning Their Felicity, and
Misery.", Leviathan
Hobbes: Leviathan 1651


A strong political state is
therefore necessary to establish
civil society
Hobbes sees society as a
population beneath a sovereign
authority (monarch)
 The
monarch is permitted to
abuse power – this is the price of
peace
Hobbes: Key Points

What are Humans like?
 Fearful,
violent and dangerous self-interest
 Extreme individualism

What is the nature of society? (IDEAL)
 Cannot
exist by human nature alone – individualism
gets in the way
Hobbes: Key Points

What is the role of the individual in society? (IDEAL)
 Consent
to being ruled by one in order to have security
and avoid continual fear, danger of a violent death,
and a society where life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish,
and short

Use of force
 As
needed to ensure the security of the individual and
the state
John Locke
1632-1704
Born in England
•Considered one of the first
British “Empiricists” – who
believe that knowledge comes
only or primarily from sensory
experience
•His writings influenced Voltaire,
Rousseau, and the American
revolutionaries
•
Locke: Tabula Rasa


Literal Translation: “Blank Slate”
Locke argues that individuals are born without
mental content
 Our
minds are blank at birth
 Thus “nurture” is more influential than “nature”



Individuals are free to define their own character
This leads to the idea of “Natural Rights”
Remember: Locke also holds to “Social Contract”
Theory
Locke: Second Treatise of Government
(1689)
"To properly understand political power and trace its origins, we must
consider the state that all people are in naturally. That is a state
of perfect freedom of acting and disposing of their own possessions
and persons as they think fit within the bounds of the law of nature.
People in this state do not have to ask permission to act or depend
on the will of others to arrange matters on their behalf. The natural
state is also one of equality in which all power and jurisdiction is
reciprocal and no one has more than another. It is evident that all
human beings – as creatures belonging to the same species and
rank and born indiscriminately with all the same natural advantages
and faculties – are equal amongst themselves. They have no
relationship of subordination or subjection unless God (the lord
and master of them all) had clearly set one person above another
and conferred on him an undoubted right to dominion and
sovereignty."
Two Treatises On Government: A Translation Into Modern English, ISR/Google Books, 2009, page
70.
Locke: Second Treatise of Government
(1689)

Key arguments:
 Individuals
in a state are bound morally
not to harm each other
 But government is needed to protect
people from injury or enslavement
 The state plays the role of a “neutral
judge”

“Inviolate freedom under law” –
government gains its power from the
people
Locke: Summary


All people have inalienable rights to freedom
People sacrifice some freedoms, so that a
government may protect other freedoms
 Governments
are accountable to people
 People may revolt to defend against tyranny



People “own” their own labour
Labour brings value
Nobody should be limited in what they are allowed
to accumulate
Locke: Key Points

What are humans like?
 People
are intelligent
 Individuals possess the ability to be reasonable and
make rational decisions
 People are born as a blank slate – “tabula rasa”
Locke: Key Points

What is the nature of society? (IDEAL)
 Most
people believed in divine right, but Locke
believed that power was in the people themselves
 Governments exist only to protect life, liberty and
property
 This
is why people give up their natural state of freedom to
enter into a civil society
Locke: Key Points

What is the role of the individual in society? (IDEAL)
 The
notion of popular consent
 Locke believed in democracy, which is why he was used
by the American revolutionaries almost 100 years later!

Use of force?
 Is
allowed, in so far as to protect life, liberty, and
property rights
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
1712-1778
Born in Geneva, Lived in France
•His philosophies directly impacted
the French Revolution
•Had critical views on religion which
caused his books to be banned in
France & Switzerland
•He was also a noted composer!
•
Rousseau: Discourse on Inequality
The first man who, having fenced in a piece of land,
said "This is mine," and found people naïve enough
to believe him, that man was the true founder of
civil society. From how many crimes, wars, and
murders, from how many horrors and misfortunes
might not any one have saved mankind, by pulling
up the stakes, or filling up the ditch, and crying to
his fellows: Beware of listening to this impostor; you
are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the
earth belong to us all, and the earth itself to
nobody.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on Inequality, 1754
Rousseau: Discourse on Inequality

Mankind is born inherently good, and it is society
that corrupts us
 This
negative influence is based on amour de soi (or
pride)

Thus for Rousseau, societies that may be perceived
as “backwards” are actually very good (for
example: Caribbean islanders)
 The

concept of the “Noble Savage”
Rousseau criticized Hobbes for believed that
mankind is inherently wicked
Rousseau: Key Points

What are humans like?
 Human
nature is pure
 Humans are naturally free and equal
 People had lost their compassion, became selfish, and
based their happiness on the opinions of others

What is the nature of society? (IDEAL)
 Inherently
good people have been corrupted by society
& civilization
 Private property and ownership of land lead to
jealousy and corruption
Rousseau: Key Points

What is the role of the individual in society? (IDEAL)
 To
reject representative democracy and instead want
direct democracy
 Rousseau was interested in promoting the common
good

Use of Force?
 Absolutely
not
Readings

30-1: Introduction
 Pages

9-19
30-2: Chapter 1
 Pages
28-34