Social contract

Justice is very important in society and there are many different things that go into the idea of justice.There isn’t one simple thing that makes justice work, it takes a variety of different concepts to not only form a system for justice, but put it into action. While there are many examples of societies where rules are established and behavior and judgements are measured against those rules, there is still injustice. We, as humanity, need to continue to be aware of this and work to make the…

Through this theory, Rawls' focuses on highlighting the importance behind the formation of a society from an "original position" where each individual though thoroughly informed about the facts of the world, is oblivious about himself in terms of his social status, class position, wealth, health, natural talents, opportunities, characteristics etc. The idea behind Rawls' theory is for the individuals within a society to think beyond their own self concerns, and consider the well-being of the…

natural laws. Hobbes then explains that the second law is derived from this idea and that in order to establish peace, a man must be willing to agree with another on the mutual relinquishment of their right to all things. Hobbes calls this agreement a contract, or covenant. This is Hobbes first obvious, direct refutation of Machiavelli’s argument. Machiavelli believes that the only reason that a man should make a covenant with another man is if it would benefit himself in the future. However,…

Paul Holbach, his full name Paul Henri Thiry, Baron d’Holbach, was a French author, philosopher, encyclopedist, and atheist who lived from 1723 to 1789 and a famous figure from the French enlightenment. In Holbach's most famous book called System of Nature, he lays out his views on the topic of free will and determinism in a section titled “The Illusion of Free Will”. In it Holbach writes, “[Man] is connected to universal nature, and submitted to the necessary and immutable laws that she imposes…

Controlling Fate Fate and free will are opposites; fate controls one’s future beyond one’s control, while free will is built upon the individual’s choice. Between fate and free will, lies the idea that the individual still possesses control over his or her future subconsciously; that an individual’s subconscious affects the individual’s future. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe tells the tale of a Nigerian man named Okonkwo, as he transforms from a person of high respect in the village of…

Are Natural Rights Really Natural? Natural rights are defined as “The fundamental human rights based on the universal human laws, as opposed to those based on man-made positive law.” In other words, natural rights are those rights which are not dependant on the cultural or legal factors of a particular region. In fact they are universal in nature are identical throughout the globe. According to the United States Declaration of Independence "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" are three…

John Locke vs Karl Marx: The Significance of Work to Human Life According to Locke, the claim of ownership to something can be divided into either common or private property. In terms of common property, God has given the world to all men and “... All the fruits it naturally produces and animals that it feeds, as produced by the spontaneous hand of nature, belong to mankind in common...” (Locke, 11). In other words, under the law of nature (which suggests that all men are both free and equal)…

Anarchism is the idea that all social actions exists without government interference or services. Communism, on the other hand, is Anarchism's polar opposite: it is a system in which government exerts strong control over many services—including amounts that societal members can earn. This paper will: explain both societal systems; it will then point out some differences between the two societies; finally I will argue that anarchy is not practical, and will provide one method in which societies…

There have been multiple, different ideas over the centuries for what it means to "own something" and what that means for the "owner." Ancient philosopher Plate thought that owning objects was unhealthy for a person's character. Aristotle made the opposite argument that owning objects developed good moral character. However, twentieth-century philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre took the definition of ownership from tangible, material objects farther to intangible things like skills and knowledge. I…

this is to give insight to those who know nothing about a collective society. The society in the novel Anthem is a brutal one, that requires everyone to think less of themselves in order for the group to better survive and thrive. Collectivism is a social outlook on society, that says that the interests of the group should be put above everything else. In a collective society people cannot choose what they want for themselves,they have to be chosen for. What is chosen for this individual will…