 Enlightenment philosophers have proposed various ideas on the

formation of human society. These thinkers imagined that mankind

in their “natural state” tend to come together and organized
themselves in order to look after their interests. (By nature, man is a
social animal.)
 For Thomas Hobbes, man in his natural state is governed by his
desires and these often lead to conflict with other fellowmen.
 Society, therefore, is the means by which men seek to control their
natural tendencies and impose order.
 Individuals who establish societies enter into a social contract – an
agreement where individuals sacrifice some of their rights and submit
to a higher authority. A civilized society, therefore, manages the
conflicting desires of people and imposes order to create harmony
and peace among the citizens.
 John Locke proposed his own ideas on the social contract with a
different assumption.
 Locke considered man in his natural state as more cooperative
and reasonable, and, that society is formed through the consent
of the individuals that organized it. A concept known as the
consent of the governed.
 Locke’s social contract is a covenant among individuals to cooperate
and share the burden of upholding the welfare of society.
 Jean Jacques Rousseau considered the social contract as an
expression of the “general will”. In his view, the individuals who
compose society have given the established authority the power to
act on their behalf and impose its will on the people.
 John Rawls views on society emphasize the capacity of
individuals as rational beings to make decisions that meet their
self-interests.
 Rawls introduced a version of the natural state which he called the
original position to explain social formation. The concept of the
original position assumes that given a situation where an individual
has no awareness of his individual characteristics in a society, he
would naturally choose to establish a society which is fair and just to
all individuals.
 David Gauthier considers self-interest as an influential factor in
society, since in meeting a person’s own needs he also furthers the
interests of the other members of the society.
 Socialization is the process where an individual learns the
behaviors, attitudes and values prevalent in his own society. This
process involves various agents such as social institutions and other
members of the society. The individual’s interaction with these agents
influences and defines his personality, identity and behavior.

 Society has a significant influence on the behavior and interactions

of individuals.

 Societies which engender negative behavior will result in

individuals taking on negative traits. More positive societies,
however, are able to influence their members to adopt positive
traits and behavior.

 Socialization- individual learns the prevailing behaviors, attitudes,

values within his or her society

 Stanford Prison Experiment- influence of society in behavior and

human interaction was the focus of the psychological experiment.