Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education

VIDEO LESSON PLAN IN

INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN PERSON

Title: THE RELATIONSHIP OF INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY

Semester: 1st Quarter: 2 Week: 4

Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC)

Content Standards
The learner understands the interplay between the individuality of human
beings and their social contexts

Performance Standards
The learner evaluates the formation of human relationships and how
individuals are shaped by their social contexts

Learning Competencies
7.1 Recognize how individuals form societies and how individuals are
transformed by societies PPT11/12-IIf-7.1

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to:

1. examine and analyze the relationship between individual and society
2. establish the underlying principle of the emergence of societies
3. draw significant influences and impacts of societies to individuals

Vocabularies:
CIVIL AUTHORITY - the moral power of command which the State exercises
over its members.
GENERAL WILL - a collectively held will that aims at the common good or
common interest.
HUMAN NATURE - fundamental dispositions and traits of humans.
INDIVIDUAL – that which has existence independently or distinct from other
people possessing their own needs and goals
SOCIAL CONTRACT - an agreement between (a) members of the community
or (b) members of the community and the Sovereign.
SOCIETY – an assembly of human beings who are united by a mode of
agreement that demands some common end, value, or interest.
 SOVEREIGN - the legitimate head of state after the Social Contract: (a) a
person or group of persons, such as a monarch or a government,
or (b) the people representing themselves.
STATE OF NATURE - A pre-societal condition of human nature.
THEORY - set of beliefs that explains or accounts for a general philosophy or
specific philosophical concept imposed by your body.

Pre-Test Multiple Choice

1. What does the claim that “man is a social animal” mean?
A. that man is intrinsically attached to animals and tends to befriend them
B. that man is driven by the desire to be with fellow men
C. that man is inclined to work with people and animals
D. that man is not different from animals needing companions
2. What is true about society?
A. It is a union of men with a common purpose and goal
B. It is a product of the integration of individuals for the attainment of a better
life
C. It is where individual men freely live and hope for happiness
D. All the above choices are correct
3. In basic social contract theory terms, nature is:
A. the ideal place to live B. safe and fair
C. brutal and dangerous D. the same as society
4. The state of nature of man is describe as _____________.
A. the dictate of reason and will of men for self-preservation.
B. from which human relations are based and come to existence.
C. the condition of human beings before societies are established.
D. the reason for the political association of men.
5. John Locke's view of government is primarily based upon his desire to:
A. ensure the protection of one’s wealth and property
B. oppress the landlords and masters
C. destroy and end slavery and establish equality
D. create a society where everyone was equal in terms of wealth
6. Thomas Hobbes believed that human beings are:
A. always treat one another fairly and rationally
B. self-centered and full of distrust
C. would always fight, no matter the circumstances
D. living in peace and harmony with nature
7. Which of the following is NOT a term used to describe the members of a political
association formed by a legitimate social contract?
A. People B. Subjects C. Citizens D. Serfs
8. What do people get in return from0 surrendering part of their freedom and
rights to an established authority under a social contract?
A. Headship B. Money C. Security D. Position
9. What is the common concept between Locke and Rousseau which has an
essential role in the establishment of civil government?
A. private property B. wealth C. abuse of power D. territory
10. For Rousseau, what is formed when free and equal persons come together
and agree to create themselves anew as a single body.
A. Politics B. Sovereign C. Government D. Justice
ACTIVITY 1 Describe Your Community
Identify from the following the attributes that best suit an ideal community.
Write your answers in the space provided. You can also add some characteristics
that you think not indicated below. Answer the questions that follow.

you were not.

1. Work together towards the goal of majority

2. Allow freedom of expression
3. Members are required to give contributions
4. Set clear policies and obligations
5. Disregard sensitivity towards members
6. Promote interaction among members
7. Confine cultural heritage in the community
8. Elect leaders that stand by community values
9. Critics are valued as mover of change in the community
10. Leaders’ decisions are common good oriented

Processing questions:
1. Are these also true with your community or government?
2. In what ways do you experience/recognize these attributes?

Learning Content

In Political Philosophy, a social contract is understood as an actual or

hypothetical compact or agreement entered by individuals or between the ruled and
their rulers, defining the relinquished rights and duties of each. That during primitive
times, according to the theory, individuals were born into an anarchic state of nature,
which was happy or unhappy. They then, by exercising natural reason, formed a
society (and or a government) through a contract among themselves to get rid of or
come out of the state of nature.

The question of the relationship between the individual and the society is the
starting point of discussions about society. Here you shall be learning the main
theories regarding the relationship of the individual and society.

The State of Nature of Man and the Social Contract

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)

Thomas Hobbes introduced the mechanistic theory of human nature which
states that humans are necessarily and exclusively self-interested. Men pursue only
what is perceived and considered to serve their best interests. One’s action is
motivated solely by the desire to preserve or make better his situation. In the State
of Nature, men are naturally and exclusively self-interested, they are more or less
equal with one another, that even the strongest man can be killed in his sleep, there
are limited resources, every person is always in fear of losing his life to another. There
is no long-term or complex cooperation possible because the State of Nature can be
aptly described as a state of utter distrust. It is the state of perpetual and unavoidable
war and yet there is no power able to force men to cooperate.
Hobbes also argues that human beings are reasonable which is the inherent
rational capacity to pursue their desires as efficiently and maximally as possible. He
proceeded that men are naturally self-interested, yet they are rational, they will
choose to submit to the authority of a Sovereign to be able to live in a civil society,
which is conducive to their interests which are seen as the way out of such a state
of war and to escape the state of nature and create a civil society.
Being reasonable and recognizing the rationality of this basic precept of reason, men
can be expected to construct a Social Contract that will afford them a life other than
that available to them in the State of Nature. This contract is constituted by two
distinguishable contracts. First, they must agree to establish society by collectively
and reciprocally renouncing the rights they had against one another in the State of
Nature. Second, they must imbue some one person or assembly of persons with the
authority and power to enforce the initial contract. To ensure their escape from the
State of Nature, they must both agree to live together under common laws and create
an enforcement mechanism for the social contract and the laws that constitute it.

John Locke (1632 - 1704)

According to Locke, the State of Nature, the natural condition of mankind, is
a state of perfect and complete liberty to conduct one’s life as one best sees fit, free
from the interference of others. The State of Nature, although a state wherein there
is no civil authority or government to punish people for transgressions against laws,
is not a state without morality. The state of war begins between two or more men
once one man declares war on another, by stealing from him, or by trying to make
him his slave. Since in the State of Nature, there is no civil power to whom men can
appeal, and since the Law of Nature allows them to defend their own lives, they may
then kill those who would bring force against them. Since the State of Nature lacks
civil authority, once a war begins it is likely to continue. And this is one of the
strongest reasons that men must abandon the State of Nature by contracting
together to form a civil government.
Property plays an essential role in Locke’s argument for civil government and
the contract that establishes it. According to Locke, private property is created when
a person mixes his labor with the raw materials of nature. Because nature is given
to all of mankind by God for its common subsistence, one cannot take more than his
fair share. Property is the cornerstone of Locke’s argument for the social contract
and civil government because it is the protection of their property, including their
property in their bodies, that men seek when they decide to abandon the State of
Nature.
These societies are based on voluntary agreements to care for children
together, and they are moral but not political. Political society or Civil Government
comes into being when individual men, representing their families, come together in
the State of Nature and agree to each give up the executive power to punish those
who transgress the Law of Nature, and hand over that power to the public power of
a government. Having done this, they then become subject to the will of the majority.
Having created a political society and government through their consent, men then
gain three things which they lacked in the State of Nature: laws, judges to adjudicate
laws, and the executive power necessary to enforce these laws. Each man, therefore,
gives over the power to protect himself and punish transgressors of the Law of Nature
to the government that he has created through the compact.

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778)

According to Rousseau, the State of Nature was a peaceful and idealistic time.
People lived solitary, uncomplicated lives. Their few needs were easily satisfied by
nature. Because of the abundance of nature and the small size of the population,
competition was non-existent, and persons rarely even saw one another, much less
had a reason for conflict or fear. As the population increased, how people could
satisfy their needs change. People slowly began to live together in small families, and
then in small communities. Divisions of labor were introduced, both within and
between families, and discoveries and inventions made life easier, giving rise to
leisure time.

For Rousseau, the invention of property constitutes humanity’s ‘fall from

grace’ out of the State of Nature. With private property, conditions of inequality
became inevitable. Some have a property and others are forced to work for them, and
the development of social classes begins. Eventually, those who have property notice
that it would be in their interests to create a government that would protect private
property from those who do not have it but can see that they might be able to acquire
it by force. So, the government gets established, through a contract, which purports
to guarantee equality and protection for all, even though its true purpose is to
fossilize the very inequalities that private property has produced. In other words, the
contract, which claims to be in the interests of everyone equally, is really in the
interests of the few who have become stronger and richer because of the
developments of private property.

Synthesis
The Social Contract Theories we learned presented the two essential and
principal elements of social contract where the relation of individuals play a
significant role to wit:
The first element is the presumption of an initial pre-social and pre-political
situation called a “state of nature”. These modern philosophers are one in the
contention that under this state of nature, all individuals are equal, they are all
situated proportionally relative to one another, and they all have some motivation to
leave the state of nature in favor of some benefits gained by coming into civil society.
The second element is a normative representation of the parties to the contract. The
parties of the contract are described as (1) motivated by self-interest, in as much as
they will only agree to the contract if they perceive that they will benefit from the
perceived social interaction; (2) the concern for the welfare of others, that is, only if
they recognize that the advantages they expect to derive from the social contract will
be conditional on their willingness to guarantee the same advantages to the other
end; and (3) with reasonable respect to the way they understand their interests, the
interests of others, and the just or moral principles that ought to govern their pursuit
of those interests.

Keep this in mind:

On Views on Human Nature
Hobbes: Humans are selfish by nature and must be controlled.
Locke: Humans are rational by nature and can control themselves.
Rousseau: Humans are good and compassionate by nature but can be corrupted
by civilization.
On Effects of The Social Contract
Hobbes: People will live in peace but without rights except for the right to self-
defense under the rule of Leviathan
Locke: The three natural rights which exist in the State of Nature will be easier
to enforce by the government. Those who have given express consent will be
bound by the contract; those who have given tacit consent can opt-out and leave.
Rousseau: Life will be fair for all if all will employ the general will and set aside
personal interests.

Application

Imagine yourself into a state of nature and that there no rules or laws and
that each one is perfectly free to pursue her own self-interest during this time.
How are you going to maintain an ideal and livable society away from the state
of nature? What are the rights you are going to lay down or uphold? Make a draft of
your own version of social contract that you shall adopt.

To do this, refer to your answers in Learning Activity 1 and 2. These are the
contrasting situations from where you can take the conditions of your social contract.
You will be guided by the following beginning statements.
 PREAMBLE
To form a more humane established society where Justice,
Tranquility, Security and General Welfare are the utmost concern,
and with the Blessings of Almighty God, we do ordain and declare:

The People:
The Leaders:

The Government:

The Mutual Benefit:

The Lasting Peace:

Post Test Let’s assess

1. What is true about the state of nature of man?

A. It is the dictate of reason and will of men for self-preservation.
B. It is from which human relations are based and come to existence.
C. It is the condition of human beings before societies are established.
D. It is the reason for the political association of men.
2. What is true about human nature according to Thomas Hobbes?
A. Man is an inherently good and productive member of society.
B. Man is driven by his self-interest and preservation.
C. Man is capable of self-realization
D. Man is a social animal
3. What is true about the claim that “man is a social animal”?
A. Men behave like animals C. Men are to be with other men
B. Men are sentient and brutes. D. Men is driven by instincts
4. What best explains social contract?
A. It is necessary as a way out of a state of nature
B. It is necessary to come to terms with what rights to be laid down
C. It is a necessary agreement to perpetuate peace and order in society
D. All of the above
5. As a pre-cursor or element of social contract theory, the state of nature is:
A. It is a haven of peace where people live with fairness
B. It is the ideal place for people to live in.
C. It is the need for man to complete his fullness
D. It is a dangerous state of affairs of competition for survival
6. Thomas Hobbes believes that man by nature is __________.
A. good B. selfish C. clever D. fair
7. For Locke and Rousseau, it is the main reason for people in coming into terms
of the social contract?
A. Peace and Order B. Food Security C. Private Property D. Inequality
8. Social contract theory justifies the establishment of ____________ to direct the
peoples’ pursuit of mutual interests.
A. money system B. government C. property D. political party
9. Social contract theory is the foundation of social and political legitimacy. It is
where free and equal human beings have the right to overpower one another.
A. Only the 1st statement is correct C. Only the 2nd statement is
correct
 B. Both statements are correct D. Both statements are false
10. From the social contract theories, which of the following concepts play an
important role in the establishment of society?
A. Suffering B. Individual C. Peace D. War
B.

Assignment

Complete the table below with the influence of the following community
figure in your personal and community experiences.

Significant Influence Significant Influence on

Community Figure
on Individual Community
Mayor
Barangay Captain
Priest
Teacher

References:

Celeste, Friend, Social contract theory: https://www.iep.utm.edu/soc-cont/

accessed May 21, 2019.

Laskar, Manzoor, Summary of Social Contract Theory by Hobbes, Locke and

Rousseau (April 4, 2013). Available at SSRN:
https://ssrn.com/abstract=2410525 or
http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2410525

Nery, Maria Imelda N. 2007. Philosophy of Man. Mandaluyong City: National

Bookstore. Reprint edition

Stumpf, Samuel Enoch and James Fisher. 2008. Socrates to Sartre and Beyond. New
York: McGraw Hills Publishing. International Edition.