Enlightenment Debate: Locke vs. Hobbes
You and your classmates are on the verge of establishing your own country: ____________________________.
To effectively rule over this country, you must decide what your government will look like. During The
Enlightenment period both John Locke and Thomas Hobbes presented their own unique ideas as to how a
country should establish its government. In getting ____________________________ up and running, you and
your classmates will need to debate the philosophies of Locke and Hobbes.
ULTIMATE QUESTION:
Which philosopher’s ideas on government will be the best fit for your country?
Each class member will be assigned to a team: Locke, Hobbes, or neutral. Your team will work as a unit,
however each person will have an assigned role. All team members should be able to speak during the debate,
there will not be one speaker.
Team Manager
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Lead Researcher
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Primary Document Analysts
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Damage Control Specialists
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Team Scribe
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Locke and Hobbes Team Jobs
The team manager will be in charge of making sure that the team is working as
a unit and not as individuals.
The team manager must manage class time for his or her team. If work needs
to be completed outside of class, the team manager must fairly allocate
assignments.
The team captain is responsible organizing his or her teammate on debate day
and making sure that all team members are capable of asking/answering
questions.
The lead researcher is responsible for obtaining background information for
his or her team.
The lead researcher is in charge of organizing the research that other team
members find and distributing it to his or her teammates.
The lead researcher should be able to complete research using databases as
opposed to general Internet searches.
The primary document analysts are responsible for locating, reading, and
interpreting primary sources written by, or about, Locke or Hobbes.
The primary document analysts must extract quotes from the primary
documents that will bolster their team’s argument as well as refute the
opposing team.
The damage control specialists are responsible for anticipating the enemy’s
attack.
The damage control specialists need to research and predict the other’s side’s
arguments in order for their team to debunk them and not be caught off guard.
The team scribe is to help his or her teammates create an electronic note file
(Microsoft Word document, Google Doc, etc.) that the entire team can access
to investigate research findings.
The team scribe is in charge of creating a bibliography of resources for his or
her team.
Neutral Team Jobs
Those class members selected to be on the neutral team will ultimately make an unbiased decision as to what
form of government will work best for your class’ country. Neutral team members must be able to explain their
reasoning to the entire class. Neutral team members are therefore to work on their own to educate themselves in
an unbiased fashion about BOTH Locke and Hobbs.
Enlightenment Debate: Format and Expectations
1. On the day of the debate, each member of Locke and Hobbes teams should come prepared to make a
statement that supports their group’s form of government.
a. No two team members should present the same evidence.
b. All statements should include supporting examples. This is where quotes from your primary
documents and statistics will come in handy.
c. These statements are to support your team’s perspective, NOT to debunk the opposition. If you are a
debater, you may consider this the “affirmative” portion of the debate.
d. Each team member should have a written statement prepared to turn in. You may use the written
statement as you speak, but do not forget that presentation style is graded.
2. After each team expresses their perspective, the Hobbes and Locke team will be given a change to crossexamine each other.
a. Each team should come prepared with at least 3 questions to ask the opposing team.
b. You will not know in advance what questions your team will be asked, be sure your “Damage
Control Specialists” have prepped your team to answer cross-questions.
c. Once a team member has answered a cross-question, they may not answer another cross-question.
3. The neutral team will act as a jury and decide the debate winner on debate day.
a. Neutral team should take notes as they listen to the debate in order to adequately determine which
side presented the most convincing argument.
b. The neutral team should prepare at least 2 general questions (questions that will apply to both the
Locke and Hobbes teams). The neutral team will be able to ask their question to both teams as they
try and hand down a verdict.
c. Each neutral team member will be given two days after the debate to formalize his or her decision in
writing and submit it.
4. Teams may either submit their written arguments or cross-examination questions as a single file to
turnitin.com or as individuals. Please proofread all of your work before submitting it.
Enlightenment Debate: Rubric
CATEGORY 10 - EXEMPLARY
9 -EXCELLENT
Every major point
Every major point
was adequately
was well supported
Use of
supported with
Facts/Statistics with several relevant
relevant facts,
facts, statistics
(2)
statistics and/or
and/or examples.
examples.
8-GOOD
7-FAIR
Every major point
was supported with
facts, statistics
Every point was not
and/or examples, but
supported.
the relevance of
some was
questionable.
Presentation
Style
Team consistently
used gestures, eye
contact, tone of
voice and a level of
enthusiasm in a way
that kept the
attention of the
audience.
Team usually used
gestures, eye
contact, tone of
voice and a level of
enthusiasm in a way
that kept the
attention of the
audience.
Team sometimes
used gestures, eye
contact, tone of
voice and a level of
enthusiasm in a way
that kept the
attention of the
audience.
Organization
All arguments were
clearly tied to an
idea (premise) and
organized in a tight,
logical fashion.
Most arguments
were clearly tied to
an idea (premise)
and organized in a
tight, logical
fashion.
All arguments were
clearly tied to an
Arguments were not
idea (premise) but
clearly tied to an
the organization was
idea (premise).
sometimes not clear
or logical.
The team clearly
understood the topic
in-depth and
presented their
information with
ease.
The team seemed to
understand the main
points of the topic
and presented those
with ease.
The team did not
show an adequate
understanding of the
topic.
Most information
presented in the
debate was clear,
accurate and
thorough.
Most information
presented in the
debate was clear and
accurate, but was
not usually
thorough.
Information had
several inaccuracies
OR was usually not
clear.
The team clearly
understood the topic
Understanding in-depth and
presented their
of Topic
information
(2)
forcefully and
convincingly.
Information
All information
presented in the
debate was clear,
accurate and
thorough.
One or more
members of the
team had a
presentation style
that did not keep the
attention of the
audience.
Enlightenment Debate: Daily Duties While Researching
By the end of “Research and Prep Day 1”:
 Turn in a list indicating which team member has been assigned each job.
 Submit a written statement indicating (generally) what your team accomplished.
 In your written statement indicate how your team will come to class prepared to continue researching
tomorrow.
By the end of “Research and Prep Day 2”:
 The team scribe should submit a copy of the team’s note file to the teacher initialed by all team members and
a bibliography (please see your teacher to learn how to use Noodle Tools – this will generate an MLA style
bibliography for you)..
 The team manager should notify the teacher as to what work the team is going to complete outside of class
and during the next class period.
By the end of “Research and Prep Day 3”:
 The primary document analysts should have a list of quotes to use when responding to cross-examination
questions.
 All team members should be prepared to present their arguments, ask cross-examination questions, and
answer cross-examination questions.
o The damage control specialists should have prepped their teammates to respond to questions
written by the opposition.
o An organized list of notes should be distributed to all team members and the teacher (initialed by
team members).
 All statements and questions should be finalized. Corrections may be made outside of class, however you
should not change the main point of any statement without conferring with your teammates.
 If necessary, the scribe should submit an updated bibliography. It is not advised that you search for new
sources at this point.
DAY 4 IS DEBATE DAY.