Social contract

“Our social world, with its rules, practices, and assignments of prestige and power, is not fixed (….) By writing and speaking against them, we may hope to contribute to a better, fairer world” (Delgado et al. 3) Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic phrase in their introduction to Critical race theory: the cutting edge, collection of essays, what in their opinion is the main essence of critical race theory. The intersection of race and law as well a power structure is a main element discussed in…

In societies, freedoms are not always guaranteed therefore someone or something is needed to secure them. Leaders, constitutions, and military are some of the ways freedoms can be enforced and protected in society. Thomas Hobbes believes that the sovereign will and should be given absolute power because human beings need him to supply them with the security needed for their freedoms. He is a theorist of freedom, so he understands that out of human’s nature and their freedom absolutism will be…

There are numerous parallels between the theories of Hobbes and Machiavelli. These provide strength to both of their arguments but their similar outlook on the relationship between human nature and political structure also provides space for similar questioning. Through the comparison of Machiavelli and Hobbes, the question of the worth of liberty arises. Liberty and security go hand in hand in that security of the populace is necessary before any individual can truly be free. But in order to…

Social justice is an interesting philosophical examination, pensive thought in understanding how society would function with or without the concept of justice. Having read two works delving into the intricacies of social justice by Rawls and Robert Nozick, understanding the role of what societies are trying to achieve, as well as where they disagree on that point. By examining different accounts of social justice would not be complete without considering the works of Rawls and Robert Nozick's…

When Cather wrote O Pioneers, she spent some time analyzing the different viewpoints of readers. These viewpoints include the naturalistic view, the romantic view, and the realistic view. Quite similarly to other things, the three types of people tend to have conflicts. First, some people see something from a romantic perspective. This means that people see a lot of emotion behind an event. To illustrate, when Emil shot the bird in the sky, Marie said “They were having such a good time, and…

Michael J. Sandel’s Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? explores the meaning of justice and the challenges of answering the big questions posed in political philosophy through various examples. One of the first few questions he proposes is: “Does a just society seek to promote the virtue of its citizens? Or should law be neutral toward competing conceptions of virtue, so that citizens can be free to choose for themselves the best way to live?” (Sandel 9). A just society should promote a…

the division of legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. Additionally, the legislative branch would be Congress, the executive branch would be the President, and the judicial branch would be the U.S. Supreme Court being the highest court. Madison emphasizes the idea that it is important to create the government in a way that each branch of government will keep each other in their proper places. For example, he states that “it is evident that each department should have a…

The novel “Lord Of The Flies” by William Golding is set on a remote island in the pacific ocean. The island is a paradise, with almost constant perfect weather. It is also stuffed with tropical fruits and animals for food, and the best part, there are no adults on the island. There was four main kids on an island, in mostly good health. Although they had a perfect start on a dream island, it soon turned to chaos. As Thomas Hobbes had predicted, if humans have freedom and choice to do whatever…

the relationship of law and morality was brought fore in the famous Hart and Devlin debate, which was an argument about the Wolfenden report in 1957.. The report suggested the legalisation of prostitution and homosexuality on the particularly utilitarian basis that the law ‘should not intervene in the private lives of citizens or seek to enforce any particular pattern of behavior further than necessary’ to protect others. Hart, who was a positivist was influenced by the theories of Mill,…

is only concerned with his own self-preservation and not the needs of other men. This view steers him to battle for his place and status in the world. In this society, man is willing to kill one another to achieve their the highest reaches of the social ladder. In this belief not all men are not equals amongst themselves that it…