- Thomas Hobbes argued that in a state of nature without government, life would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" due to individuals looking out for their own self-interest. He believed people consented to form societies and cede some rights to a sovereign authority in order to have security and order. - John Locke believed individuals in a state of nature had natural rights and consented to form governments to better protect those rights from harm, as living without such protection would leave individuals in a state of fear. He advocated for limiting government power to protect individual freedoms. - Jean-Jacques Rousseau argued people in a state of nature had more freedom and morality,

2. • State of Nature:
• Age of
hypothesis of
Enlightenment:
conditions of
cultural
what the lives of
movement emphasizi
people might
ng on
have been like
reason and individua
before societies
lism; reform society
came into
using reason,
existence.
challenge ideas
Terms
• Social contract:
• groundedof Nature:
The Law in
tradition andall
addresses the
the basis of faith
and advance
origin of society
morality given to
knowledge through
and the legitimacy
us by God,
the scientific
of the authority
commands that we
method..
of the state over
not harm others
the individual.

4. Thomas Hobbes
(5 April 1588 – 4 December
1679)
Absolute monarchy
: ultimate governing authority as head of
not limited by a constitution or by the
law.
: abuses of power by this authority can
not be resisted.
Political Philosophy and Science
The Social Contract
: self-interest and the absence of rights
and contracts > ceded some of their
individual rights so that others would
cede theirs

6. John Locke
(29 Aug 1632 – 28 Oct 1704)
‘Father of Classical Liberalism’
: securing the freedom of the individual by limiting
the power of the government
Empiricism (philosophy of science)
: is a theory of knowledge which states
that knowledge comes only or primarily
from sensory experience.
Social contract
: individuals bound morally, by The Law of Nature,
not to harm > without government to defend them >
no security in their rights and would live in fear.
Origin of modern conceptions of identity and the self

8. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
(28 Jun 1712 – 2 Jul 1778)
Theory of the Natural Human
:"uncorrupted morals" prevail in the "state
of nature" .
Stages of Human Development
:"savages" = optimal in human development
(less-than-optimal extreme of brute animals
and the extreme of decadent civilization).
The Social Contract
: Joining together into civil society and
abandoning claims of natural right can
preserve themselves and remain free.

10. Immanuel Kant
(22 April 1724 – 12 February
1804)
Theory of Perception
: understanding of the external world has
foundations in both experience and a
priori concepts
: analytical and synthetic proposition =
provide new knowledge, but knowledge
that is not derived from experience
Moral Philosophy
: An action is not done with the motive of
duty, then it is without moral value
Kantianism
: revolving entirely around duty rather

11. Thank you.