Question

Define social contract theory?

Define state of nature?

Answer each question in 2-3 sentences.

Answer 1

1.Social contract theory is a political philosophy that questions the origins of society, and the legitimacy of governmental control over individual people. It is an argument that all men have an obligation to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Seventeenth century philosopher Thomas Hobbs made the point that, if people aren’t willing to set aside some of their own wants, in favor of the good of all, society can only exist in chaos.

2.state of nature is a situation without government, employed in social contracttheory in order to justify political authority. The device is most important in the works of the great contract theorists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, mainly Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679), John Locke (1632–1704), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778).