CONTRACTARIANISM
INTRODUCTION
“Any of the various theories that justify moral principles and political choices because they depend on a social contract involving certain ideal conditions. A general ethical theory, that individuals make the right choices under a hypothetical social contract.” (www.dictionary.com)
“Contractarianism, which stems from the Hobbesian line of social contract thought, holds that persons are primarily self-interested, and that a rational assessment of the best strategy for attaining the maximization of their self-interest will lead them to act morally (where the moral norms are determined by the maximization of joint interest) and to consent to governmental authority.
Contractualism, which stems from the Kantian …show more content…
ELEMENTS OF CONTRACTARIANISM
Contractarianism/social contract has two fundamental elements; the first is state of nature this as explained by Hobbes is a situation in which there’s no government and no central authority, human beings endeavor desperately to fulfill their desires for food, clothing, shelter, power, honor, glory, comfort, pleasure, and a life of ease. This leads to self-preservation which includes justification of use of force and fraud to defend oneself,
Hobbes concluded that human beings, in a state of nature, would be engaged in a fierce struggle over scarce resources. Individuals would attack, steal, destroy and invade to protect themselves and prove their status. Thus, the state of nature is a state of war. But this state is to our survival and so the desire for self-preservation expressed itself in another way which was fear of death and the desire for a good life inclined everyone toward …show more content…
They could be masochists! However, such individuals are in the minority. And there are other ways to justify non-self-interested actions to people. Religious, political, and familial institutions as well as a number of philosophical arguments have tried to convince persons to forego their self-interest for some greater good. Nevertheless, this has always been a difficult if not impossible task and, on the whole, not very successful. Consider how difficult it is even with an enforcement agency in place to prevent individuals from pursuing their self-interest. People cheat on their taxes even with enforcement in place! Perhaps morality would have a more firm foundation if one could demonstrate to all individuals that moral rules are in their self-interest. If moral rules cannot satisfy this requirement, then we have no reason to follow them. This emphasis on harnessing, rather than repressing, the self-interested behavior is the hallmark of the contractarian
INTRODUCTION
“Any of the various theories that justify moral principles and political choices because they depend on a social contract involving certain ideal conditions. A general ethical theory, that individuals make the right choices under a hypothetical social contract.” (www.dictionary.com)
“Contractarianism, which stems from the Hobbesian line of social contract thought, holds that persons are primarily self-interested, and that a rational assessment of the best strategy for attaining the maximization of their self-interest will lead them to act morally (where the moral norms are determined by the maximization of joint interest) and to consent to governmental authority.
Contractualism, which stems from the Kantian …show more content…
ELEMENTS OF CONTRACTARIANISM
Contractarianism/social contract has two fundamental elements; the first is state of nature this as explained by Hobbes is a situation in which there’s no government and no central authority, human beings endeavor desperately to fulfill their desires for food, clothing, shelter, power, honor, glory, comfort, pleasure, and a life of ease. This leads to self-preservation which includes justification of use of force and fraud to defend oneself,
Hobbes concluded that human beings, in a state of nature, would be engaged in a fierce struggle over scarce resources. Individuals would attack, steal, destroy and invade to protect themselves and prove their status. Thus, the state of nature is a state of war. But this state is to our survival and so the desire for self-preservation expressed itself in another way which was fear of death and the desire for a good life inclined everyone toward …show more content…
They could be masochists! However, such individuals are in the minority. And there are other ways to justify non-self-interested actions to people. Religious, political, and familial institutions as well as a number of philosophical arguments have tried to convince persons to forego their self-interest for some greater good. Nevertheless, this has always been a difficult if not impossible task and, on the whole, not very successful. Consider how difficult it is even with an enforcement agency in place to prevent individuals from pursuing their self-interest. People cheat on their taxes even with enforcement in place! Perhaps morality would have a more firm foundation if one could demonstrate to all individuals that moral rules are in their self-interest. If moral rules cannot satisfy this requirement, then we have no reason to follow them. This emphasis on harnessing, rather than repressing, the self-interested behavior is the hallmark of the contractarian