Introduction | Tufts Phil Workshop

Olivia Ireland · 2020-04-21T15:58:50.795Z

There are two questions to ask yourself when discussing political philosophy: 1. How do we make a society? 2. How do we make sure that our society is just? How to make a society: In the 17th century there were three famous philosophers that discussed the best way to build a society. (Backstory: there were lots of political revolutions in the 18th century). Their conclusion was a form of a social contract. Hobbes: • Hobbes believed that "the life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short". • Therefore there needs to be a powerful sovereign to keep the order (this is evident in the massive leader on the cover of his book Leviathan) • The only way to have a truly powerful government is for them to have absolute power • The social contract is protection for obedience Locke: • In the state of nature people are free and equal • They also have natural rights • The social contract gives up some rights to a government in order to have the government protect their life, liberty, and property (very similar but not the same to the Declaration of Independence) • If the government fails its promise then the people can resist and replace the government for a better one • Locke advocates separation of legislative and executive powers Rousseau: • Governments should be guided by the General Will of the people • Reason to enter into a social contract: humans get farther if they cooperate • General Will becomes the law and then people follow the law (thereby following their own will) • This way individuals can keep their freedom and cooperate How to Make a Just Society: Rawls asks “What terms of cooperation would free and equal citizens agree to under fair conditions?” To do this he asks everyone to consider the Veil of Ignorance. In this scenario, people choose their ideal society without knowing their position in life (wealth, talents, race, gender). In class we practiced this thought experiment.

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Tufts University Pre-College Philosophy

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