The Theory Of Social Contract

In terms of the American political system, the most significant of the theories of the origin of the state is that of the ‘Social Contract”. Philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, James Harrington, and John Locke in england and Jean Jacques Rousseau in France developed this theory in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Lawrence Kohlberg, a developmental psychologist, identified six developmental stages of human moral reasoning. The first stage that he recognized was the Punishment-Obedience Orientation, where the person’s concern is for avoiding punishment through obedience. The second stage was the Instrumental Relativist Orientation, where the person’s concern is to work in their self interest, and better their position. The third stage of moral development was the Good Boy-Nice Girl Orientation, where the person’s concern lies with their reputation. Next was the Law And Order Orientation, where the person was less concerned with their own immediate well being to the maintenance of a larger society. The fifth stage was the Social Contract

“What man loses by the social contract is his natural liberty and an unlimited right to everything he tries to get and succeeds in getting; what he gains is civil liberty and the proprietorship of all he possess” (Jean-Jacques Rousseau). A social contract is a deal made by an individual to give up specific rights to gain government protection. Just like a contract, a social contract can be an agreement over several different things. The social contract in the United States is and has been the same for every citizen; when going to a different country this contract may be different. Contracts in other countries may consist of giving up all individual rights, even natural rights, for government protection. A social contract is used in every government as it is an agreement from an individual to have a government to live by. In the quote above Jean-Jacques Rousseau talks specifically of an American social contract; a social contract from a different country may not have the agreements such as, proprietorship of all possessions a citizen might own. A social contract and natural rights go hand in hand when discussing government, but as I mentioned earlier, a social contract doesn’t always guarantee natural rights to its citizens. In the United States, natural rights are a major discussion that is often brought up, this is due to our constitution, which gives us these natural rights legally.

Using the Social Contract Theory to argue against increased regulation of guns, Timmons of Disputed Moral Issues (p.29) defines the Social Contract Theory as, “An action is morally right if and only if (and because) it is permitted by a set of moral principles that hypothetical agents would agree to under conditions that are ideal for choosing moral principles (the precise characteristics of the hypothetical agents and ideal conditions to be spelled out)”. As I attempted to analyze the social contract theory, I translated this theory as meaning in some circumstances gun usage can be morally justified and is thereby permitted for the safety and lives of the innocent. For example, if an armed or unarmed subject was to enter a home posing a threat towards the homeowner, the homeowner has the right to bear arms to protect oneself as well as the family’s life.

The Magna Carta and Rousseau theory of the social contract are both different and similar in many ways. The Magna Carta protects a certain group of people. And the Rousseau theory of the social contract is to protect everyone. But they also have a lot of similarities such as the fact that they both put restrains on the government.

Lawrence Kohlberg, the author of three stages, was an American psychologist who is well known for his theory on the stages of moral development. According to Kohlberg, there are three levels of moral development:Preconventional (moral reasoning is based on external rewards and punishments), Conventional (laws and rules are upheld simply because they are laws and rules), and Postconventional (reasoning is based on personal moral standards)” (powerpoint).

Kohlberg’s second level from his theory is conventional moral reasoning. This is primarily people following social norms and customs (Kohlberg’s Theory). The laws and rule are sustained simply because they are laws and rules that must be followed (“Kohlberg’s Moral Development”). The second level is generally found in society hence the name of this level being “conventional”. Stages three and four are included in the conventional level. Stage three focuses heavily on peer approval (Lawrence Kohlberg). Individuals are merely trying to please others so they will follow rules or do what others want them to do in order to gain their approval (“Kohlberg’s Moral Development”). Many will follow

The importance of Lawrence Kohlberg’s work is the link he makes between moral development and reason. Although this concept originated with Kant and other earlier philosophers, Kohlberg provides a psychological analysis that sheds light on how reason influences moral judgments. Describe what is necessary for moral growth according to Kohlberg. Explain.

I side with you that students should have a voice in creating a social contract. As teachers we need to find ways to manage our class on this is definitely a great strategy that we can utilize it. When we work as a team both the teacher and student were are able to accomplish more making learning fun and productive at the same time.

Social contract denotes that a government or sovereign body exists only to serve the will of the people because the people are the source of political power that is enjoyed by the entity. The people can choose to give or withdraw the power. Not all philosophers agree that the social contract creates rights and obligations; on the contrary, some believe that the social contract imposes restrictions that restrict a person’s natural rights. Individuals who live within the society gain protection by the government from others who may pursue to cause them injury, in exchange, the citizens, must relinquish individual liberties like the capability to commit wrongdoings without being reprimanded, and they should contribute to making society

Kohlberg (1963, 1981, 1984; Colby & Kohlberg, 1987) expanded Piaget’s work, developing a most influential cognitive developmental theory of moral development. Kohlberg proposed the progression through the invariant, universal sequence of three moral levels each composed of two distinct stages. According to Kohlberg, no stage can be skipped, neither will there be a regression to an earlier stage.

Contractual agreements are supposed to be consensual, and freely entered into by the parties involved. Therefore, ‘before a court enforces a relationship as a contract, the courts must have a reasonably certain basis in fact to justify binding the parties to each other.’ (St. John’s Law Scholarship Repository, no date). Resolution of whether a contract was intended to be legally binding is not determined by what the parties themselves thought or intended. Rather, a more objective stance is taken by the courts. This is known as the objective theory of contract, and essentially enables ‘the courts to look at external evidence (what the parties said and did at the time)’ (Poole, 2006, p. 34), as to objectively indicate the parties’ intentions

Social Contract theory is the idea that in the beginning people lived in the state of nature with no government and laws to regulate them. In order to overcome the issues involved in the state of nature, people entered into agreements to protect themselves and their properties. They did this by uniting, rescinding certain rights under the state of nature, and pledging themselves to an authority that will guarantee certain protections. They all agree to live together under those laws and create a mechanism that enforces the contract and the laws that come with it. Some political theorists, such as Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, have differing views as to what the state of nature is and what should constitute as a social contract. One

On the formation of the Social Contract Theory has a long history, many people have formed Social Contract Theory has made a great contribution. Thomas Hobbes as one of the representatives of Modern Social Contract Theory, his departure from the theory of human nature, to a fictional state of nature as a starting point, put forward the basic principles of natural law, natural rights, and then through the Social Contract Theory, the establishment of his country theory. Thomas Hobbes certain extent, played a significant role, for people to bring enlightenment. But his theory does not apply in all cases; we need to analyze different aspects of different problems. In this essay, I will describe the Social Contract Theory, and explain the problem of how do we get out of the State of Nature raised by Hobbes Game. I explain the idea of cooperation that Thomas Hobbes can give to this problem, and then argue that this is not a satisfactory response to the problem for three reasons.

John Locke embedded his political ideas in the form of two treatises popularly known as Two Treatises on Civil Government that he authored in 1690. In the first treatise, Locke disagrees with the political and social philosophy of Robert Filmer in his work known as Patriacha, authored in 1654. The second treatise contains Locke’s viewpoint on political philosophy where he expounds the origin, authority and the significance of a civil government. In addition, the treatise contains his view on the state of nature, the social contract, political groupings, types of government and a citizen’s right to own private property.