PRE FINAL PERIOD He was born in the family of an Anglican

clergyman in 1581 and he died in 1679

SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY THOMAS HOBBES

He was born in the family of an Anglican
clergyman in 1581 and he died in 1679
INTRODUCTION:

He witnessed the whole bloody drama of civil

The idea that the authority of the ruler is based war in England between the supporters of
on some kind of agreement or contract monarchy and republicanism and sided with the
between the ruler and his subjects is quite old. King. It left a deep impact on his thinking.
The theory of social contract is as ancient as
political thought itself; traces of the theory can
be found in the Mahabharata and in the He was born in the family of an Anglican
Arthashastra of Kautilya. The social contract clergyman in 1581 and he died in 1679
argument assents that the state emerged from
our individual consent and only our consent can
bind us to obedience. This implied that the state He witnessed the whole bloody drama of civil
emerged from a contract that individuals in a war in England between the supporters of
state of nature consented to in order to protect monarchy and republicanism and sided with the
themselves from one another and from external King. It left a deep impact on his thinking..
threats.

He painted a very dark picture of human nature

A clear-cut and elaborate expression of this
theory was furnished by the trinity of Hobbes
and Locke of England in the seventeenth He was born in the family of an Anglican
century and Rousseau of France in the clergyman in 1581 and he died in 1679
eighteenth.

He witnessed the whole bloody drama of civil

A. State of Nature war in England between the supporters of
monarchy and republicanism and sided with the
King. It left a deep impact on his thinking.
Before the State came into existence, there was
a hypothetical state of nature or a condition
that prevailed before the creation of the State He painted a very dark picture of human nature

THOMAS HOBBES BRIEF INTRODUCTION He stands for a strong and stable government –
absolute monarchy
HIS MAJOR WORKS: desirable to establish a common power which
could take the place of multitude of wills
previously active.
His famous works include De Cive(1642),
Levaithan(1651), De corpore(1655), De Homine
(1658). He also wrote a number of pamphlets. In the words of Hobbes “the only way to erect
such a common power as may be able to
defend them (i.e. men) from the invasion of
HOBBES STATE OF NATURES foreigners and injuries of one other….. is to
confer all their power and strength upon one
man or upon assembly of men that may reduce
According to Hobbes, it is a very horrible all their wills… which is as much as to say to
condition in which man is the enemy of man. appoint one man or assembly of men to leave
Hobbes considered man as essentially selfish, their person… this is more than consent or
stupid, aggressive and egoistic. Man is moved to concord, it is real unity of them all, in one and
action not by his intellect or by his reasons, nut supreme power.” Accordingly they proceeded
by his appetites, desires and passions. His to finalise the contract. According to Hobbes
concern is his own satisfaction as his moves are each individual says to other “ I authorize and
driven by self interest. It is all but a state of fear give up my right of governing myself to this man
and danger of violent death. The law of nature or to this assembly of men, on this condition
informs man to be in competition with others that thou give the right to him and authorize all
and so invade others for some gain on live in his actions in the like manner”.
diffidence so as to be in search of safety or seek
glory so as to secure some reputation. In short,
life of man is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and Conceived in this manner the state, Hobbes
short. holds, is real unity a single personality taking
the place of many, Instead of a multitude of
wills possessing in perpetual disharmony and
THE SOCIAL CONTRACT conflict for the preservation of life and the
attainment of happiness, there appears a singly
will determining the common welfare and
People were greatly fed up with the state of achieving it through the irresistible might that
uncertainty prevailing in the state of nature and inhers in the joint powers of all. The individual
motivated by the instinct of self-preservation resigns his nature rights and the state assumes
and were keen to have a state. Thus Hobbes them.
believes that the state had its origin in the
foresight of men in their own preservation, and
the rational desire to escape from the natural Thus, we find the Hobbes’s Social Contract is
condition of war. The ceaseless conflict and characterised by the following features:
strife were inevitable so long men were guided
by the dictates of appetite. They could escape
from it only by setting up a common power First, the parties to the contract are individuals.
which could at the same time restrain and The Sovereign is not a party to the contract but
protect every individual. Therefore, it was felt rather the product of the contract. He therefore
not only stands outside it but also above it. In Fifthly, the minority has no right of object to the
this way Hobbes tries to justify absolute or choice of the majority in the selection of the
despotic rule and denies all right of resisting the sovereign. The minority by becoming a part of
state to the individual. According to one writer the commonwealth tacitly accepts the will of
“Instead of becoming a charter of human the majority. If the majority does not accept the
freedom the contract becomes in the hands of authority of the commonwealth, it remains
Hobbes a bond of human slavery” outside it and can be justly destroyed by it.

Secondly, the Commonwealth or State is based Sixthly, as the contract was concluded primarily
on reason and not on fear. People render for the protection of individual’s life, it implies
obedience to the authority of the state because that the individual surrendered all his rights,
the rational apprehension that the end of self except the right to life, to the sovereign. Thus,
preservation is better served within the state. the sovereign can encroach in all the rights of
However, Hobbes further points out that the the individual, except the right to life
persons who obey and respect the authority of
the state purely on rational grounds are very
few. The effective agency which socializes the Seventhly, the people are bound to submit to
man is the fear of punishment and not reason. the will of the state or the ruler and enjoy no
The efficacy of the law depends on the extent to right against the sovereign. This is why it has
which the state has the power to enforce it. As been said that instead of being the charter of
Hobbes himself puts it “Covenants without liberty, it is the people to withhold obedience to
sword are by words" the sovereign under some special
circumstances. Thus he permits the individual
to disobey the sovereign if the latter commands
Thirdly, the Sovereign is not a party to the him “to kill, wound or man himself”, or not to
contract and hence cannot be guilty of violating resist those that assault his or to abstain from
the contract. Justice lies in adherence to the the use of food, air, medicine or any other thing
contract and the sovereign cannot be unjust. without which he cannot live. In short, Hobbes
Thought the sovereign is the creature of the permits disobedience to a command which
contract, he is above it. frustrates the end of self preservation for which
the sovereign authority was created.

Fourthly, the contract once concluded by the

individuals cannot be revoked because once the CRITICISM
individuals submit consent, they have no right
to withdraw their consent without the
permission of the sovereign. If people try to The shortcomings of Hobbes’ political
conclude a fresh contract it would be violation philosophy have been best brought out by his
of the original social contract and would mean bitter critic Prof. Vaughan. He has noted the
return to the pre-contract condition viz. the following defects :-
state of nature.
 1. Hobbes’ theory is unreal and untrue to
facts. No actual sovereign has wielded
Jean Jacques Rousseau was an influential
such absolute and unlimited powers as
philosopher during the 18th Century, a period
Hobbes’ ascribed to his sovereign.
known for the Enlightenment and the rise of
empiricism. Empiricisim is the philosophical
belief that knowledge Comes primarily from
2. Hobbes’ philosophy was mainly
santry aperience
influenced by his personal predilections
and prejudices. He was motivated by
the sole consideration of defending
Rousseau, however, is often associated with the
absolute monarchy.
idea of the “noble savage and belief in the
fundamental goodness s of humanity, which
contrast with the empirist focus on observation
and experience.
3. It is difficult to understand how the
people in the state of nature became
the law-abiding and docile citizens of
Rousseau believed that humans are inherently
the society. The sudden transformation
good but are corrupted by society. He empha-
of the individual from savage to the
soed the importance of individual freedom and
civilized seems quite illogical.
the idea that civilization corrupts natural
goodness.

4. Hobbes is wrong in insisting that the

sole bond of union among the
One of Rousseau’s must significant contribution
individuals is only common terror.
is his work “The Social Contract” where he
argues that legitimate political authority relies
on a social contract upon by all citizens for their
mutual preservation.
5. According to Hobbes’, the decision to
resist the authority of the sovereign on
the ground that his action endangers
Rousseau’s critique of Enlightenment
the individual’s life rest with the
empiricism stemmed from his belief that the
individual. This can only be possible in a
pursuit of knowledge and progress in the arts
democratic overnment which Hobbes
and science had led to a moral decline in
never conjures.
society. He argued that “civilization” had
corrupted human nature, leading to artificial
needs, inequality, and a lost of Individual
FINAL PERIOD
Freedom.

18 Century: EMPIRICISM
Rousseau’s State of Nature:

Jean Jacques Rousseau

Rousseau’s concept of the “state of nature” in ROUSSEAU BELIEVED THAT PEOPLE ARE
his “Discourse on the Origin of Inequality” GENERALLY BORN GOOD, BUT ARE CORRUPTED
(1755) is central tothis idea. BY THE WAY SOCIETY IS STRUCTURED – “MAN IS
BORN FREE, BUT IS EVERYWHERE IN CHAINS,”

He imagined a pre-social state where humans

lived in ga natural condition free from the Emile or On Education
constraints of Civilization.

•The Importance of Nature

In this state, human were guided by “amour de
•The Role of Experience
soi” (Self-Love) and “pitie “(compassion),
Leading to a state of natural Freedom and •The Power of Self-Discovery
equality. There was no private propertly, social
hierarchy, or competition, only the basic needs •The Importance of Moral Development
for survival.

GENERAL WILL:
The State of Nature INDIVIDUALS SHOULD SURREDER THEIR
INDIVIDUAL DESIRES AND WORK TOWARDS
WHAT’S BEST FOR THE SOCIETY AS A WHOLE
In his book “Emile, or Education” Rousseau
Outlined his philosophy on Education,
emphasizing the importance of allowing Major Works:
children to develop naturally and Learn through
experiences rather than formal education.
1) “Discourse on the origin of Inequality
(1755) Critique of social inequality.
Rousseau’s ideas about the natural goodness of
humans and the corrupting influenced the
Romantic movement, which valued emotion 2) “The Social Contract” (1762):
and nature reason and Civilization. Foundation of political philosophy.

EMPIRICISM – a philosophical doctrine that

holds the view that knowledge is derived from 3) “Emile” (1762)” Revolutionary
experience. education philosophy.

THE SOCIAL CONTRACT – IS THE SOCIALLY 4) “Confession “(1782) Autobiographic

ACCEPTED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PEOPLE work.
AND AUTHORITY