Locke and hobbs state of nature Essay Example for Free

Locke and hobbs state of nature Essay ?Exam #1 1. Locks justification of private property can be summed by stating, the earth and all it possess is property to be used by people in common for their own benefit and existence. In Lockes view, every individual must have private property rights In order to possess the property in common. To Locke, property also justifies and gives authority in terms of wages, land, and labor. Also in order to be justified, and individual must not possess more property then can be used for his benefit. This comes about from his dislike of authoritarianism both on the individual, community, and religious levels. Locke dictates that we have a natural right as humans to everything common i. e. : water, air, life liberty and property, (the earth and everything in it is considered property). Everything within the earth is considered commons until labor converts it to private property. But that being said Locke does give limits to private property. Privatization is limited by needs, we must leave enough, and as good for those who need it (though the accumulation of wealth to Locke is a natural right). In other words lock views waste as immoral and the limit of privatization. Other immoral acts to Locke include degrading the commons, and depriving others of their natural right of commons. Today, we have overcome these limits by having a huge income inequality, polluting our world through industry, and by not making full use of property. We degrade our commons through dumping, and polluting our air through industry, and we pass bills to let corporations get away with it easier. That goes the same for the other two; currently we pass legislation that helps corporations exceed Locks natural limits to property. 2. To Hobbs, Human action can be explained in terms of causal relations of material objects, also known as the Mechanism theory. According to Hobbs, a human poses both voluntary and involuntary motions. Involuntary motions can be described as things we subconsciously do all the time without noticing like breathing and thinking without having any external effects. Voluntary motions on the other hand have cause and effect association (Mechanism), and can be broken down into two categories appetites, and aversions. Appetites are morally good things that we want that are executed through the accumulation of power. Aversions are the opposite, morally bad things we avoid that is driven through fear which according to Hobbs, is a primary motivator for us. These two things together shape or basis of morality, in other words what is right and wrong, and how we treat one another in society. Hobbs materialistic explanation dictates we have two primary motivators in life power and fear. Power is the central reason we do things. Acquiring this power to Hobbs is the primary aspect or function in human nature and life. This power leads to our individual ability to execute our appetites and aversions and gives class separation or a hierarchy to society as a whole. It can be broken down into two parts natural and acquired power. Natural is the power you are born with like strength or intellect and it cannot be altered, whereas acquired is things gained like wealth and friends. We do not stop seeking power as humans until we die. Fear is the other primary motivator to Hobbs; this fear can simply be broken down to the constant threat of death in Hobbes view of the human state of nature. We constantly seek to avoid death, (the accumulation of power lowers ones fear of death. To Hobbes, the logical explanation to our human central desires is that without a sovereign and a social contract we as humans in our natural state will always be in conflict, and life will be brutish and short. 3. To Locke the right to revolution can be summed up as our collective right or duty as a people to overthrow a sovereign who does not properly serve us or a community as a whole. Locke does not view the sovereign as a deity, but rather as just another man living amongst people. He does not reside in a state, but rather amongst his subjects. The sovereign in Lockes view serves the people and acts as a trustee that we must consent to through a social contract. In this contract we give all our rights except the natural ones given by god in exchange for protection of our life and private property. Because we give these rights the sovereign reserves the right to punish wrong doing, but this punishment must be held to the context of natural and civil law. The state or sovereign may only be held supreme if it is held to both these laws, and we as a people must erect safeguards to ensure and protect natural law, or our god given rights. It is from these safeguards that if the sovereign does not live up to his end of the contract, and does not act in the communities best interest, we reserve a natural right to overthrow the sovereign, to protect against a self-acting corrupt government that isnt in the interest of the subjects who signed the contract. Hobbs, on the other hand views the sovereign as a deity who only has to answer to god instead of the people because he possess more power. Also, instead of retaining our natural rights, all are given up to the sovereign at the time of the contracts singing. Because of this, the sovereign becomes the law rather than being bound to it because it is his divine right given by god. Hobbs also views government as a leviathan or a scary evil monster that we need in order to not revert to our sate of nature where life is constantly at conflict, brutish, and short. Unlike Locke, Hobbs would never advise overthrowing the sovereign because of fear of instability and returning to the state of nature. Hobbes does assert that one has a natural right to do so, but executing the overthrow brings the risk of being killed by the sovereign (which no rational man would do). Hobbs would not agree to locks right of revolution simply because of fear. 1). Hobbs and lock are two of the most influential philosophers in the realm of state of nature, and social contract theories. Though they come from different time periods, the twos theories differ and relate in different ways. When talking about the human state of nature, Hobbes does not view man as a social animal, and that we cannot exist without a state. He views the state of nature as constantly at violent conflict with one another over the accumulation of property and power, where we have endless rights until the signing of the social contract. Life in the state of nature for man under Hobbs is solitary brutish, and short. With this conflict in mind Hobbs states that no society or sovereign is worst of all because it leaves us in our violent state of nature. He also states that in the state of nature man does not know what is his or someone elses, and property only exists through the will of the state. Thus men are condemned to endless violent conflict over property and power. Morality to Hobbs is merely the command of people, a group or god, and law is just the momentary will of the sovereign. In Hobbess view, the sovereign dictates or is the arbitrator of definitions and are not socially constructed because that would carry no meaning (humans cannot know what is right). Locke on the other hand, views man as a social animal by nature. And in the state of nature men for the most part, kept promises and obligations, and though insecure, it was mostly peaceful and pleasant. In my opinion the state of nature to Locke can best be depicted through Americas past frontier life, where though life was insecure, violent conflicts were often ended by forcible imposition of a just peace on wrong doers, and peace was upheld (for the most part). In Lockes sate of nature, peace and property rights existed in most circumstances. These rights were maintained because it was socially acceptable to punish wrong doing against you because people know what is theirs and inst. Morality to Locke is driven by the basis of morality with appetites and aversions, and lies within society and the individual. Law is used to safeguard property and rights instead of being at the whim of the sovereign. Also, to Locke individuals and society dictates definitions and meanings (which to Hobbs is impossible). Unlike Hobbs, Lockes view of the state of nature leaves the argument that we may not need a sovereign to live, but to enforce law, have property rights, and engage trade one may be required. Lockes view of the social contract dictates that we give up rights to one another (or a community), rather than to the sovereign. In other words you wont take from your peers what you wouldnt want taken form yourself. Although we give up our rights, we retain our right to life and liberty and gain impartial protection of our property (state grants individual rights). In Lockes view of the social contact, the state or sovereign acts as a trustee and serves the people. We receive retribution for property crimes in return for impartial justice backed by force. To Locke to role of the state in social contracts is to ensure justice to wrong doers through force. However, we as a people/community must grant the state/sovereign legitimacy. This legitimacy can only supreme if it is bound by natural and civil law (according to Locke). Locke states, to protect our natural rights we must erect safeguards. It is these safeguards that allow us to abolish a sovereign if he does not serve the people/community, because the sovereign does not live in the state but amongst his subjects. When talking about Hobbes on the other hand, the individual gives up all rights to the sovereign in exchange for the right to live. No matter what the sovereign does, it does not constitute a breach of the social contract (a breach results in death). In other words, there is no right to rebel, even though there is a natural right to do so, no one would out of fear of losing their life (under Locke it is a natural right to rebel). Unlike Lock, under Hobbs the sovereign can do no wrong because lawful and unlawful, good and bad are merely commands based of the sovereigns will. That being said unlike Locke where society creates the state, the state creates society in the image of the rulers will. These two differ immensely in the realm of social contract theory. For the most part Locke agreed with some of Hobbes statements but the twos theories on state of nature and the social contract differ immensely. First off, In the Hobbesian social contract subjects give up all rights in exchange for life to the sovereign whereas, in the Locke contract all rights are given up except the natural rights, to the community. Also, in the Hobbesian contract the sovereign can do no wrong and is right beneath god in the social hierarchy (considered a deity). Locke contrasts this by stating that the sovereignty serves the people as a common man. Furthermore Hobbs states in his contract that society is created by the state in the image of the ruler whereas Locke argues that society creates, and legitimizes the state. The Hobbesian contract is also motivated by fear and Power, and Lock the opposite being motivated by property, and pursuit of wealth in peace. Lastly there is the topic of rebellion, the Locke contract allows for rebellion justified as a right, and the Hobbesian does not for fear of death. To this point I believe Locke provides the more compelling argument mostly because I would rather have the government serve me and have the right to rebel. Additionally I believe we are social creatures by nature, seeking stability, rather then living in constant violent conflict with a short life, and immanent death looming. With consideration to rights and liberty, I would also like to retain some rights rather than have none, and be at the mercy of the sovereign. I do also think that society creates and legitimizes the state instead of the state creating society in the image of the ruler. No matter what the case however, they both provide very compelling arguments that have been used to shape modern political thought.

Act One Scene One of Educating Rita Essay -- Educating Rita Plays Will

Act One Scene One of Educating Rita Read Act 1, Scene 1 and explain whether you think it is an effective way to start the play. Comment on: How Russell introduces the characters and themes. How he makes the scene dramatic and entertaining. Russell uses an effective way to start the play. It is effective because we find out that Frank is alcohol dependent and he is lazy by not getting the door fixed. Russell faces many problems when trying to introduce his play such as showing Franks alcohol dependency, Rita striving for a change, showing relationships between Frank and Rita, Frank and Julia and Rita and Denny. A telephone call tells us that Frank has a partner. The telephone tells us that Frank and Julia do not get on very well. The advantage of a telephone call is that it tells us that Frank has a partner in an easy way. At the start of the play we see Frank looking for alcohol behind books of the self. Russell making Frank look for alcohol behind books shows to us that he is an alcoholic and also telling his partner Julia that he is going to the pub afterwards. Russell would have found it hard found it difficult to show that Frank and Rita are from to different social backgrounds and setting the scene is a problem that was also faced by Russell as well. When Frank is looking for alcohol behind books he can not remember where he had hidden the bottle of whiskey which indicates that he might have been drinking before. â€Å"Where the hell†¦? Eliot?† When he remembers where he has hidden the whiskey he is very happy. â€Å"Jubilantly.† This visual clue shows the extent of Frank’s alcoholism. Franks â€Å"pours himself a large slug into the mug.† People drink in small glasses because it is very strong. When... ...on the door. You wanna get it fixed!† This tells us that Rita says anything that she wants to or what is on her mind without thinking about it. Rita asks Frank why he took the job to work for the Open University. Rita also asks him if he needed more money. Asking Frank if he is doing it for more money is very rude. Russell makes the scene entertaining and dramatic by making the scene humorous. Rita tries to show that she is intelligent by â€Å"going to the bookcase,† this shows that she is interested in books, literature and want to learn. Rita picks up a book called Howards Ends by E.M.Forster. She read the title of the book and makes a joke about it: â€Å"its sound filthy.† Willy Russell makes it an effective way to start the play. He introduced the characters quickly and effectively. We find out what the characters are exactly like straight away.

Education as a Social Institution Essay

At some point in time everyone is a recipient of some type of education. This can take the form of traditional schooling, home schooling, or mentoring by an individual. Formal schooling, within industrialized nations, typically encompasses one third of an individual’s life. This is one of the reasons sociologists have examined education as it relates to various social perspectives. This paper will explore education in regards to the Functionalist, Conflict, and Interactionist perspectives/views. (Perspective and views will be used interchangeably throughout this paper). â€Å"Two theories are considered in accounting for the increased schooling required for employment in advanced industrial society: (a) a technical-function theory, stating that educational requirements reflect the demands for greater skills on the job due to technological change; and (b) a conflict theory, stating that employment requirements reflect the efforts of competing status groups to monopolise or dominate jobs by imposing their cultural standards on the selection process† (Collins, 1971). Applying the Functionalist Theory Functionalist theory is explained by asserting that â€Å"societies function like biological systems in that they have differentiated parts that function together to ensure the smooth operation and survival of the organism as a whole† (Morrow, Torres, 1995). It is important to note that within the functionalist theory there are three different functions. â€Å"Manifest functions of institutions are open, stated, conscious functions. They involve the intended, recognized consequences of an aspect of society, such as the university’s role in certifying academic competence and excellence† (Schaefer, 2009). An example of this would be the core classes that are available to students in elementary school. Such as math, history, English, etc. While some schools, dependent on them being private or public institutions, offer various additional classes, they all predominately educate their students in core capabilities. Latent functions are those functions that â€Å"are unconscious or unintended functions that may reflect hidden purposes of an institution. One latent function of universities is to hold down unemployment. Another is to serve as a meeting ground for people seeking marital partners† (Schaefer, 2009). The third sub-function is dysfunction. In the military, dysfunction is referred to as the ten-percent. This means that for every group, unit, etc there will be ten percent of the population that does not conform to the military way of life. More simply, this can be expressed as â€Å"an element or process of a society that may actually disrupt the social system or reduce its stability† (Schaefer, 2009). Today’s educational system teaches students to become integral parts of society. Through public education, teachers are able to influence tomorrow’s workforce in societal norms, ensuring they understand how to become contributors to their society’s stability. An example of the contribution to society the education system provides is: parents that take on extra jobs to fund their child’s education. This provides revenue for the immediate family, while funding and teaching the child the importance of hard work, devotion, and self sacrifice (societal norms). This can be compared to the example in the text about Hindu’s and their devotion to cows. Just as the Hindu understand the benefit the benefits that they receive by ensuring their cows remain available to cultivate and fertilize their agricultural crops, most parents apply the same concept to educating their children. Understanding the benefits an education will provide not only their immediate family, but also their children and the community as a whole. Applying the Conflict Theory The basis of this theory is that conflict theorists assume â€Å"that social behavior is best understood in terms of tension between groups over power of the allocation of resources, including housing, money, access to services, and political representation† (Schaefer, 2009). As with the functionalist perspective, conflict theory embraces various viewpoints. These include: the Marxist view, an African American view, and the feminist view. These views while differing slightly, each embrace the concern with inequality in society, while focusing on social change and the redistribution of resources. â€Å"The main dynamic of rising educational requirements in the United States has been primarily the expansion of mobility opportunities through the school system, rather than autonomous changes in the structure of employment. It is argued that the effort to build a comprehensive theory of stratification is best advanced by viewing those effects of technological change on educational requirements that are substantiated within the basic context of a conflict theory of stratification† (Collins, 1971). An example of this theory put to use is the April, 2001 strike conducted by Hawaii’s educators. Due to an inability of the state government and the union representatives to come to an understanding approximately 15,000 school teachers, from kindergarten to university, participated in the strike, effectively bringing Hawaii’s education system to a halt. This example while relating to the conflict theory is directly related to the Marxist view. â€Å"Conflict theorists are interested in how society’s institutions―including the family, government, religion, education, and the media―may help to maintain the privileges of some groups and keep others in a subservient position† (Schaefer, 2009). The individual view from this perspective identifies how people are shaped by power, coercion and authority. Specifically, those universities that are considered to be elite provide their students with enhanced career opportunities. â€Å"While there are various criteria by which particular colleges and universities can be placed in this academic hierarchy, the most significant one sociologically is their relationship to the class structure of society. This relationship is understood in terms of the social and economic attainments of their graduates. Elite colleges and universities, therefore, are those whose alumni enjoy disproportionate access to high-status occupations, as well as to other forms of economic and cultural privilege; they are gateways to elite membership in society† (Farnum, 1997). Applying the Interactionist Theory The first two perspectives have dealt with macrosociology or society as a whole. The interactionist perspective looks at portions of society in a microsociological way. This theory can be explained as â€Å"theorists who take the interactionist perspective generalize about everyday forms of social interaction in order to explain society as a whole† (Schaefer, 2009). Some of the data compiled by interactionist sociologists studying the educational field include: student views/goals in relation to their grade point averages, effectiveness of school programs, and effectiveness of educator abilities. As with functionalist and conflict perspectives, the interactionist perspective incorporates additional concepts. These include symbols, nonverbal communication and face-to-face interaction. â€Å"Symbolic interactionism focuses on the role of language and symbols in the (interpretive) processes of meaning making. Young people are highly social beings deeply engaged in the processes of learning how to act within the culture of which they are a part. This cultural learning is both shaped and reflected by their use of language, dress, music and clothing, for example† (Domine, 2007). Within the education system, interactionists poll students and teachers alike, in order to determine what effect objects, actions, etc have on the subjects. This evaluation enables the sociologists to better understand everyday behaviors and relate them into quantitative or qualitative data to track social patterns. Society’s Views Regardless of your favored perspective, each of these views offers pros and cons, dependent on your topic of study. In the educational realm, the functionalist, conflict and interactionist views provide the sociologist a means to determining their ends. â€Å"Whatever the purpose of sociologists’ work, their research will always be guided by their theoretical viewpoints. For example, sociologist Elijah Anderson embraces both the interactionist perspective and the groundbreaking work of W.E.B. DuBois† (Schaefer, 2009). The works of these individuals and countless others have helped to define and more importantly to understand the how and why educational systems operate the way they do and how they can be improved. Conclusion Three distinct theoretical perspectives have been discussed throughout this paper. The overall tone to take away from the research conducted here is that regardless of the favored view, practitioners must maintain an open mind and be able to incorporate portions or be able to integrate separate perspectives into their work. When considering or examining the education field, the functionalist, conflict and interactionist views all lend themselves to providing quality feedback on the â€Å"snapshot in time† taken by the researcher, regardless of topic. This can come in the form of determining the effects of school lunches on the productivity of students to the quality of programs in relation to independent funding received by an institution. â€Å"A sociologist’s theoretical orientation influences his or her approach to a research problem in important ways―including the choice of what to study, how to study it, and what questions to pose† (Schaefer, 2009).

Environment Obligation of Chevron Corporation - 1646 Words

Corporate Environment Obligation: An examination of the performance of Chevron Corporation Nowadays, increasing customers worried about the negative effects that large companies put on environment especially some energy industries. Chevron Corporation is one of largest multinational energy corporations in the world which has branch offices in more than 100 countries. It is engaged in all the aspects of gas and crude oil, which include exploration, production, marketing, chemicals manufacturing and so on (Chevron Corporation. n.d.). Although Chevron produce energy to power economic growth of America, even the whole world, the environmental problems it caused has aroused great public concern. This essay analyses the environmental†¦show more content†¦(Brazil Sues Oil Giant Chevron For $10.85 Billion Over Offshore Leak. 2011). The case for Chevron Corporation On the contrary, Chevron Corporation continuously optimizes its operating processes to reduce waste and pollution and to preserve natural resources as well as environment. In 2007, Chevron has developed an Environmental, Social and Health Impact Assessment (ESHIA) process to evaluate new project for health and environmental impacts. ESHIA process is used to minimize the serious negative impacts and to enhance the benefits when a project is being planned, operated and decommissioned. Stakeholder engagement is the most important aspect to this process throughout the life of a project. EDHIS has already been applied for about 700 capital projects all over the world, for instance the Frade Field in the Campos Basin offshore Brazil. Chevron Brasil is cooperating with Federal University of Rio Grande to research the species and distribution of marine mammals like dolphins and whales in Frade Field area. 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