Contractarianism: Crash Course Philosophy #37
Today we explore the penultimate ethical theory in this unit: contractarianism. Hank explains Hobbes' state of nature, and implicit and explicit contracts, as well ...
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Imagine a world without rules. Nothing is illegal. Nothing is immoral. Everyone is absolutely free. This might sound like utopia to you, but according to 17th century British philosopher Thomas Hobbes, it would actually be your worst nightmare. Hobbes called this hypothetical time, with no rules to govern our behavior, “the state of nature.” And he described life there as “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” And he was probably right. The land of do-as-you-please sounds great – until you realize that everyone else is also doing as they please. That’s when you find out that you have an abundance of freedom, but you do not have any security. Because, when everyone’s constantly watching their backs, whoever is the biggest bully will be able to dominate, simply by f...
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Imagine a world without rules. Nothing is illegal. Nothing is immoral. Everyone is absolutely free. This might sound like utopia to you, but according to 17th century British philosopher Thomas Hobbes, it would actually be your worst nightmare. Hobbes called this hypothetical time, with no rules to govern our behavior, “the state of nature.” And he described life there as “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” And he was probably right. The land of do-as-you-please sounds great – until you realize that everyone else is also doing as they please. That’s when you find out that you have an abundance of freedom, but you do not have any security. Because, when everyone’s constantly watching their backs, whoever is the biggest bully will be able to dominate, simply by f...
