Theme Of Christian Justice In The Play 'Measure For Measure'

Human beings overcame their unpleasant condition, says the social contract theory, by agreeing with one another to create a state. By contract, people within a given agreed agreed to give up to the state as much power as was needed to promote the safety and well-being of all. In the contract, the members of the state created a government to

What makes a political authority legitimate? A legitimate political authority, in this essay, will be taken to mean that there is a justification for an individual or a body to have power over other people in determining such things as laws and protection of freedom. To consider this question, three theories shall be looked at – Hobbes’, Rousseau and finally Locke and determine which gives the most persuasive account of legitimate political authority. To begin with, their hypothetical starting point, the state of nature, shall be discussed to establish the foundations of their political authority. Secondly, the reasons that shall lead man to get out of the state of nature will be examined in order to see if these logically follow on from

A government where everyone has and knows the same rights, where all men are treated equally. John Locke says, in his Second Treatise on Government, “Because men consent to government in order to preserve their natural rights to life, liberty and property, whenever the government attempts to take away or destroy the life, liberty, or the property of the people, the government puts itself in a state of war with the people and the people no longer have to obey the government.” (Locke Doc A) Which states that men give in to the government to maintain their natural rights and whenever the government tries to take away those rights they go into war and the people no longer have to obey the government. The people consent to government to keep their rights and if the government tried taking their rights away, it would not be fair. Jean-Jacques Rousseau says in his most famous work, The Social Contract, “Each person gives their freedom to the general will, but they also become part of the general will and have the same power as everyone else.”

While enjoying hors d’oeuvres, the topic of discussion centered around criteria for political legitimacy. Thomas Hobbes led the discussion, outlining what he believes to be legitimate government. While American politics were founded on strict theories of consent, Hobbes is less concerned with the method by which a government is formed. In Leviathan, Hobbes mentions two paths for a sovereign to acquire power, a “Commonwealth by acquisition…[and] a Commonwealth by institution” (Hobbes, p. 110). Thomas

The government was seen to be in a contract with the people, with various obligations to the

In “Leviathan,” Thomas Hobbes believes that citizens choose to obey a sovereign leader in return for security and protection to from violence, chaos and bloodshed that is mankind’s “state of nature.” In a Commonwealth, the body of people agree to submit to a sovereign head of state to rule with absolute power, for the common good of survival and protection, be it given willingly by compact, or by force through acquisition, as outlined in Chapter XVII. Once sovereignty is in place, citizens are obligated to obey. Political legitimacy is the acceptance of authority and faith in an institution, monarchy or an assembly that was chosen by the Commonwealth for protection from their innate selfishness and evil tendencies. Whereas political legitimacy is nonexistent in the state of nature, it is used in a social contract to ensure self-preservation.

According to Thomas Jefferson, an influential leader, “No government can continue good but under the control of the people.” Jefferson’s quote suggests that the social contract and state are only run sufficiently under the authority of the people. There is a common assumption that a definite agreement among the population of a society, is dictated by the individuals themselves. In the past, various theorists as well as powerful leaders have made conscience endeavors to demystify whether the social contract is imposed by the sovereign or society. This essay makes an argument that the social compact is dictated by individuals because individuals have the power to alter the governments they exist within. The state is what the people define it as. It is bound by territory, and people, states comprise of governments. The Social Contract is developed by Jean Jacques Rousseau about what is believed to be the greatest method to establish a political community.

One of the strengths of good theater is its ability to mirror the problems and conditions shaping its time. In The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare reflects two important aspects of Elizabethan society: the corrupting influence of prosperity and the increasingly vengeful nature of Venetian justice. To address the former issue, Shakespeare downplays the importance of wealth by associating its involvement in romance with superficial and insubstantial advantages. He characterizes prosperity as a deceiving agent, citing its ability to introduce shallowness into a relationship. Shakespeare reasons that genuine romance depends on sacrifice and emotion, not wealth. The problem with justice is equally striking. In the play, justice is

In the history of modern philosophy, a lot of philosophers have raised and discussed the question of when and how a society first came into place. Two of the most important theories related to that were “The Social Contract Theory” discussed by Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau, and “The Original Contract” by David Hume. In this paper, I will present Hume’s arguments against the social contract theory, how his views might apply to Locke’s, then Locke’s response to Hume’s argument and finally present my argument of why I agree with Hume.

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

In the society illustrated by John Locke, the human nature is characterized as free and independent; however, the problem with society is that it has too many small inconveniences, which could be as trivial as a tree blocking the sidewalk. To solve these problems, a legitimate government, characterized by explicit consent, checks on institutions and the right to revolt by the people, is needed. The utmost legitimate government, in comparison to Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, is based on John Locke’s social contract in Second Treatise of Government because each aspect of a legitimate government protects the citizen’s life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Through each aspect, the people can actively participate in government to prevent the sovereign from taking advantage of their powers to further their own goals.

Thomas More, Niccolo Machiavelli, and Thomas Hobbes offer models for the relationship between the sovereign and the people in their works Utopia, The Discourses, and The Leviathan. Each argues that ensuring the common good of the people should be the primary goal of the sovereign. However, they differ in the specifics of their descriptions of this relationship and in their explanations of the sovereign’s motivation for valuing the prosperity of the people. An examination of the specified passages in each of these works will clarify the comparison of their models for this relationship.

King Lear is frequently regarded as one of Shakespeare’s masterpieces, and its tragic scope touches almost all facets of the human condition: from the familial tensions between parents and children to the immoral desires of power, from the follies of pride to the false projections of glory. However, one theme rings true throughout the play, and that very theme is boundless suffering, accentuated by the gruesome depictions of suffering our protagonists experience . There is no natural (nor “poetic”) justice depicted in this pre-Judeo-Christian world Shakespeare presents, as the relatively virtuous individuals (Kent, Gloucester, and Cordelia) in this

Since the beginning of the modern age, governments and states have existed in order to maintain moral law. Essentially these institutions are for the greater good of humanity. However, little thought is ever given to how humans lived without governments. Each and every person in the modern age is born into a state, and becomes a part of that state regardless of their will. The concept that humans are born into a state is derived from the social contract. The social contract is a voluntary agreement that allows for the mutual benefit between individuals and governments with regards to the protection and regulation of affairs between members in society. Essentially the idea is that citizens will give up some of their freedoms to the government in return for protection of their remaining rights. Throughout history, there have been a number of philosophers that have discussed the social contract and each philosopher has had there own social contract theories. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes was the foundation for social contract theory in Western political philosophy. While The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau was written a century later and inspired political reforms in Europe. Both Hobbes and Rousseau in their theories appeal to the social contract as being needed as a means to control man in society. However, their theories differ significantly on the basis of the state of nature, the phase after man has left his natural state and

Thomas Hobbes implies to the idea of social contract to resolve the problem of war and disorder. If social contract were not created, there would be no law. If there’s no law, the