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Social Philosophy

Social Philosophy.

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Social Philosophy

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  1. Social Philosophy Social philosophy is not ethics, because it is not concerned with identifying a norm of good conduct; nor is it politics, because it is not concerned with describing how power is expressed in institutions. Instead, it evaluates institutional power in terms of moral principles Issues: how are individuals related to society? how is State authority justified? what is the role of government and law? what are justice, civil rights, freedom?

  2. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) • Fear of others in the state of nature (apart from society) prompts people to form governments through a social contract • State power/authority (the sovereign) is based on the choice of subjects that there be one will. Since the sovereign determines what is right, rebellion against the sovereign is unjustified • As brutal as a State may be, it is always better than having no State or government

  3. John Locke (1632-1704) • We have God-given rights to our lives, liberty, property (e.g., bodies) • We establish governments to clarify & protect our natural rights. State authority is thus based on the consent of the people, who can rebel against the State if it fails to respect our rights • Tacit consent is given by anyone who lives in a country and is protected by its laws

  4. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) • I am obligated to obey the law only if it is self-imposed. Externally-imposed laws are based on force and are not morally legitimate • The social contract is our tacit agreement to abide by the general will, which is what we all will for ourselves as members of a community • Objection: consent is often uninformed and unavoidable (Hume)

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