A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THOMAS HOBBES’S SOCIAL CONTRACT WITH JOHN LOCKE’S SOCIAL CONTRACT IN THEIR POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THOMAS HOBBES’S SOCIAL CONTRACT WITH JOHN LOCKE’S SOCIAL CONTRACT IN THEIR POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

                                              TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pages

Title Page                                                                                                                                i

Approval                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  ii

Dedication                                                                                                                               iii

Acknowledgement                                                                                                                  iv

Table of Content                                                                                                                      v

Abstract                                                                                                          vii

CHAPTER ONE

1.0   INTRODUCTION                                                                                                          1

1.1   DEFINITION OF POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY                                                 1

1.2   NATURE OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY                                           1

1.3   METHODS IN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY                                                                 5

1.4   POLITICAL OBLIGATION AND ITS PROBLEM                                                      6

1.5   CONCLUSION                                                                                                               15

CHAPTER TWO

THOMAS HOBBES POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

2.0   INTRODUCTION                                                                                                          17

2.1   THOMAS HOBBES POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY                                                        17

2.2   THOMAS HOBBES STATE OF NATURE                                                                  18

2.3   SOCIAL CONTRACT BY THOMAS HOBBES                                                           22

2.4   AN ASSESSMENT OF THOMAS HOBBES POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY                        27

2.5   CONCLUSION                                                                                                               30

CHAPTER THREE

JOHN LOCKE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

3.0   INTRODUCTION                                                                                                          31

3.1   JOHN LOCKE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY                                                                 31

3.2   JOHN LOCKE ON THE STATE OF NATURE                                                            33

3.3   SOCIAL CONTRACT BY JOHN LOCKE                                                                    37

3.4 AN ASSESSMENT OF JOHN LOCKE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY                            39

3.5   CONCLUSION                                                                                                               40

CHAPTER FOUR

COMPARISON AND CONTRASTING OF THE TWO PHILOSOPHER’S IDEAS OF SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY

4.0   INTRODUCTION                                                                                              42

4.1   COMPARISON OF HOBBES’ AND LOCKE’S IDEAS OF SOCIAL CONTRACT   42

4.2   CONTRASTING HOBBES’ AND LOCKE’S IDEAS OF SOCIAL CONTRACT   44

4.3   AN ASSESSMENT OF THE TWO PHILOSOPHER’S POLITICAL IDEAS            48

4.4   CONCLUSION                                                                                                               50

BIBLIOGRAPH

ABSTRACT

This essaycritically examines the theory of social contract as seen and conceived by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Also, it posits to tackle certain questions like: a) Does the theory of social contract in Thomas Hobbes share any similarity with that of John Locke? b) Do they contrast at any point at all? c) Can it be said that the social contract theory according to the two philosophers under consideration is completely the same?

Thomas Hobbes and John Locke also saw it from different perspectives to a certain level. Hobbes, the first to give its full exposition and defence postulates that social contract is an agreement to which the people surrender their will, freedom, and power to an absolute sovereign called the Leviathan. Thomas Hobbes saw the contract as one in which the citizens relinquish their freedom inherent in the state of nature to an absolute sovereign. For John Locke, who came after Hobbes, conceived social contract to exist wherever some citizens united into one body having a common established law and judicature to appeal to with authority to decide controversies between them and punish offenders. The problem consequently hinges in the confusion and difference inherent in trying to understand the two philosophers’ theory of social contract.

The method of this research work shall be expository and analytical. I intend to expose the different views of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke on social contract. Since   social contract theory does not mean exactly the same thing to both of them. After the exposition of their thoughts, a comparison and a contrast and critical evaluation will follow.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 Introduction

Social and political philosophy are both closely related fields of philosophy generally dealing with the role of the individual in the society, as well as the role of government. Social and political philosophy is the philosophical study of question about social behaviour and it addresses a wide range of subjects, from individual to legitimacy of laws, from the social contract to criteria for revolution and it attempts to understand the patterns and changes of societies. It studies the questions about the government, liberty and the enforcement of legal code by authority: what they are? Why they are needed? What form should it should take and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government?[1]

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THOMAS HOBBES’S SOCIAL CONTRACT WITH JOHN LOCKE’S SOCIAL CONTRACT IN THEIR POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY