Date Thesis Awarded

5-2024

Access Type

Honors Thesis -- Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelors of Arts (BA)

Department

Philosophy

Advisor

Christopher Freiman

Committee Members

Paul Davies

Victoria Costa

Chandos Brown

Abstract

Social contract theory continues to be a leading theoretical framework in political philosophy. It argues that an individual's moral and political obligations are generated by, and dependent upon, an agreement or contract between that individual and the other individuals within their society. Notable scholars who have championed this theory include Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Rawls, and Gauthier. This thesis focuses on reviewing the descriptive aspects of Hobbes’ social contract theory, by revising an already revised account provided by Gregory Kavka. Once this revision is complete, it will be argued that the descriptive aspects of Hobbes’ account of social contract are in line with, and thus bolstered by, the anthropological evidence of today. The views of three anthropology scholars will be discussed at length: Ara Norenzayan, Joseph Henrich, and Peter Turchin. With this new perspective, this thesis will compare and contrast Hobbes’ account with that of Locke, critiquing the latter for not being compatible with the anthropological accounts. Finally, this thesis will consider further research questions that this account may generate.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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