John Locke John Locke set a basis that all people are “born with natural rights of life‚ liberty‚ and property.” He states that the only reason a state is established is to protect those rights. Locke saw people as basically good and humane; completely different than Thomas Hobbes view as man being “brutish and selfish.” He believed that the only way a law should be passed is if it was “designed for no other end ultimately‚ but…” for the good of the people under it. Another idea was that taxes
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A person cannot talk about John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau first defining what each contract theorist means when he talks about the state of nature. For Locke‚ his state of nature involves “ungoverned humans pursuing their individual interests with respect for one another’s rights and even cooperate with one another with their interests overlap” (Portis‚ p. 103). These ungoverned humans are rational‚ resources are unconditional‚ and there is no threat from any external source. In Rousseau’s
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Introduction John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau‚ two philosophers with differing opinions concerning the concept of private property. Rousseau believes that from the state of nature‚ private property came about‚ naturally transcending the human situation into a civil society and at the same time acting as the starting point of inequality amongst individuals. Locke on the other hand argues that private property acts as one of the fundamental‚ inalienable moral rights that all humans are entitled
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Hobbes‚ Locke‚ Montesquieu‚ and Rousseau on Government Starting in the 1600s‚ European philosophers began debating the question of who should govern a nation. As the absolute rule of kings weakened‚ Enlightenment philosophers argued for different forms of democracy. Thomas Hobbes: Man of the State Locke: The Reluctant Democrat Montesquieu: The Balanced Democrat Rousseau: The Extreme Democrat Thomas Hobbes: Man of the State In 1649‚ a civil war broke out over who would rule England—Parliament or King Charles
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According to Rousseau‚ the original condition of mankind was a peaceful and quixotic time in which people lived solitary‚ uncomplicated lives. This differs from Locke’s concept of the state of nature in that‚ his natural condition of mankind was a state liberty in which one was able to conduct one’s life as they saw fit. Like Rousseau’s‚ it was a time of peace between the people‚ but Locke’s was not necessarily a solitary life. The state of nature for Locke was a state wherein there were no
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of equality‚ justice‚ and freedom. Thomas Hobbes‚ John Locke‚ and Jean-Jacques Rousseau were all members of The Enlightenment movement‚ and each had their own idea on how human society should be structured and run. Locke and Hobbes lived around the same time‚ and some of their political theories were the same‚ however‚ by the time Rousseau came along‚ much had changed. Born in Geneva to a middle class watch maker‚ Jean-Jacques Rousseau was to become one of the most influential thinkers of the
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Hobbes‚ Locke‚ and Rousseau each have their own theories as to what the state of nature is; however‚ essentially they are trying to describe the same state of nature. Assuming that there is only one state of nature being described in different ways‚ I will attempt to put together a theory of what the state of nature is actually like based on what Hobbes‚ Locke‚ and Rousseau each has to say about it. Moreover‚ understanding the state of nature is important for figuring out what role it played in the
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themselves. With a “caring” and “fair” ruler they could be saved from the burden of their own judgement. In contrast‚ Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke‚ Baron De Montesquieu‚ Mary Wollstonecraft‚ and Jean-Jacques Rousseau thought that people were born pure and only were bad from the “corruption of society”‚ thus they should have a say in
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The Social Contract The three philosophers‚ Thomas Hobbes‚ John Locke‚ and Jean-Jacques Rousseau were three key thinkers of political philosophy. The three men helped develop the social contract theory into what it is in this modern day and age. The social contract theory was the creation of Hobbes who created the idea of a social contract theory‚ which Locke and Rousseau built upon. Their ideas of the social contract were often influenced by the era in which they lived and social issues that
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Hobbes vs. Locke vs. Rousseau/ State of Nature/ Allam/ 2013 “I am at the point of believing‚ that my labor will be as useless as the commonwealth of Plato. For Plato‚ also is of the opinion that it is impossible for the disorders of the state ever to be taken away until sovereigns be philosophers . . . I recover some hope that one time or other this writing of mine may fall into the hands of a sovereign who will consider it for himself‚ for it is short‚ and I think clear.” -The Monster of
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