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CONTRACTARIAN ETHICS
THE SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY

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objectives

• To help people shape their understanding of social

contract and theory
• To explain the importance of social contract as
foundation of human society

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What is aedit Master title style
contract?

• a written or spoken agreement, especially one concerning

employment, sales, or tenancy, that is intended to be enforceable by
law.
• A contract is a legally binding document between at least two
parties that defines and governs the rights and duties of the parties
to an agreement

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Social edit Master
Contract title style
Theory

• is the view that persons' moral and/or political obligations

are dependent upon a contract or agreement among them
to form the society in which they live.
• Socrates (Crito)
• one who kills should stay in prison and accepts death penalty
• Modern society
• Related to political theory , moral theory, justice theory
• Crime committed= penalty ( law)

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Historical Master title style
background

• Leviathan- a book written by Thomas Hobbes that concerns the structure of society and
legitimate government and is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential example of
social contract theory.

• The Scientific Revolution greatly influenced the theory of Thomas Hobbes

• theory of human nature that would parallel the discoveries being made in the sciences of the inanimate
universe
• new modern scientific approach involves a new method, one that emphasizes observation and experiment
• Hobbes will agree with Aquinas’s basic approach of looking at human inclinations as a
starting point for solving philosophical problems in ethics
• Example:
• humans are naturally social creatures who have a natural inclination toward knowledge and the
truth
• natural inclination to self‐preservation
• all human behaviors are motivated by self‐interest ( psychological egoism)
• Nature of man is selfish 5 5
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of Master
Hobbes’title style
contractarian theory:

• Hobbes' political theory is best understood in two

parts:
• a. the principle of self - interest
• his theory of human motivation
• Ethical Egoism and Psychological Egoism
• The principle of subjectivism (Individual Relativism)
• b. the State of Nature
• theory of the social contract

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What editState
is the Master
of title
Naturestyle
as a concept

• As political theory( origin)

• the real or hypothetical condition of human beings before societies came
into existence and without political association.
• Before societies were developed
• “what was life before civil society?
• “How did government first emerge from such a starting point?”
• There are no rights, only freedom
• To each his own
• Survival of the fittest principle

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Theory edit Master
Self- title style
interest
• The theory of self-interest:
•  we are always deep down motivated by what we perceive to be
in our own self-interest.
• the basic natural law argument, not only do we naturally and instinctually seek to
preserve ourselves, but it is right that we do so
• For both natural law ethics and social contract ethics, we are ethically
required to protect ourselves and promote our own safety and well‐being.
• In social contract ethics, the principle of self‐interest (that says one ought always to
perform those actions that benefit oneself) is the very centerpiece of ethics
• It is Ethical Egoism
• it is emphasizes how people should behave, the right way to behave, the way they
ought to behave
• key to solving the problem of conduct (Hobbes)

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“ Self - interest should not be equated to

selfishness or short term goal… best
interest is on a long term goal.. One
that benefits the most in the long run…

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Theory edit Master
Self- title style
interest
• Subjectivism
• mechanistic theory of human nature that humans are
necessarily and exclusively self-interested.
• All men pursue only what they perceive to be in their own
individually considered best interests –
• they respond mechanistically by being drawn to that which they desire
and repelled by that to which they are aversed.
• Examples:
• Love vs hate- human nature
• Good vs bad - behavior

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Hobbes edit Master title
point in thestyle
state of nature
theological worldviews
usually emphasize how
human beings are unique
and distinct from nature,
a scientific worldview
emphasizes how human
beings are part of the
natural world.
• Hobbes focused all of his
philosophical efforts on
human affairs.
• how should we
understand human
social institutions
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Hobbes edit Masteron
title
thestyle
State of Nature
What is life like in a state
of nature, in a condition
where there is no human Since there are no
law, no human laws, people are totally
government, no policies,
no infrastructure, no
free to do whatever
civilization, and no they need to do to help
society? and protect
themselves.

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th the law gle ge ow to ing t to st in n
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na every g of itive betw , rv a m h
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Result Master
state title style
of nature (For Hobbes)

• If man is free, what happens according to Hobbes?

• Given the psychological fact of psychological egoism, every human being
has the same tendency.
• To be selfish for their own self interest
• In the state of nature, we are free to do whatever we choose, for there are
no natural moral laws.
• The only laws are those laws we agree to follow.
• What is life like in the state of nature, though, when everyone is
pursuing their own interests with no regard for others?

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Result Master
state title style
of nature (For Hobbes)

• What is life like in the state of nature, though, when everyone is

pursuing their own interests with no regard for others?
• the state of nature is really a state of war, because conflict would be the
norm for selfish creatures .
• [T]hey are in that condition which is called war; and such a war, as is of every man,
against every man…In such condition, there is no place for industry; because the fruit
thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of
the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments
of moving, and removing, such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face
of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of
all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor,
nasty, brutish, and short. (Hobbes 1651: 100)
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“
 the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty,
brutish, and short..
In the state of nature there is no such thing
as right or wrong, so we really cannot
legitimately object to others’ behavior.

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Nature: thetitle style
state if war (chaos)

• In the State of Nature, Hobbes points out:

• “The notions of right and wrong, justice and injustice, have no
place, where there is no common power, there is no law; where no
law, no injustice.”
• “It is consequent also to the same condition that there be no
propriety, no dominion, no ‘mine’ and ‘thine’ distinct, but only that to
be every man’s that he can get, and for so long as he can keep it.”
• man is only for himself or self-interest. ( Psychological Egoism)

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of nature

• According to Hobbes, the

lives of individuals in the state of
nature were "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short“
• a state in which self-interest and the absence of rights and
contracts prevented the "social", or the formation of
communal society.
• Life was "anarchic" (without leadership or the concept of
sovereignty).
• Individuals in the state of nature were apolitical and asocial.
• Apolitical- no affiliation
• Asocial – avoiding social interaction; hostile to others
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From these premises of human nature,

“
Hobbes goes on to construct a provocative
and compelling argument for why we ought
to be willing to submit ourselves to political
authority.
He does this by imagining persons in a
situation prior to the establishment of
society, the State of Nature.

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Contract

• To prevent chaos, society, though political and economic

organization use the force and coercion to hold society
together.
• People ought to be willing to give up the same rights as they
expect others to give up, and out to be satisfied with just as much
liberty with respect to others as others have with respect to them.
• This agreement by the members of society forms the social
contract

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of a social contract

• A Contract Involves Cooperation

• For Hobbes, humans don’t enter into cooperative ventures like contracts because they are
naturally cooperative creatures with natural inclinations toward sociability.
• Rather, they enter into cooperative ventures because they realize they have a better
chance of getting what they want when they form contracts with others.
• Whensoever a man transferreth his right, or renounceth it; it is either in consideration of some
right reciprocally transferred to himself; or for some other good he hopeth for thereby. For it is a
voluntary act: and of the voluntary acts of every man, the object is some good to himself. And
therefore there be some rights, which no man can be understood by any words, or other signs, to
have abandoned, or transferred. As first a man cannot lay down the right of resisting them, that
assault him by force, to take away his life; because he cannot be understood to aim thereby, at
any good to himself. (Hobbes 1651: 105)
• Principle of the Social Contract: One ought to agree to participate in
social contracts

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of a social contract

• A Contract Involves Rationality

• Rationality is a prerequisite for entering into a contract
• Hobbes, like many moral theorists, maintains that for a being to engage in
morality and perform moral actions, the being has to possess rationality and
have the ability to reason.
• The premise:
• We cannot make contracts with non-rational creatures.
• Therefore, rationality is a prerequisite for entering into a contract
• Following morality is following a contract,
• Therefore, only rational beings can be considered to be moral beings.
• Human beings must be able to understand that there are rewards and
punishments attached to their actions
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summary:

• In order for a contract to be binding, the contract must be:

• (1) between individuals who are rational beings who have the capacity to
agree to the contract and who will understand the terms of the
contract
• (2) have some mechanism in place to penalize those individuals who violate
the contract.

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Advantages Master
socialtitle style ethics
contract

• it is in our rational self‐interest to follow basic rules

• Examples:
• we should tell the truth, keep our promises, not deceive, not steal, not kill
• It is a practical ethics; it gives us a reason to act and a reason to follow
these basic rules.
• It endorses common‐sense morality
• the Golden Rule (sums up social contract ethics)
• The concept of karma
• It provides a good explanation of why we need to have a rule prohibiting
stealing or any other crimes and a good explanation of why we ought to
follow the rules or the laws.
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Examples:

• One is seeking for a job, and is being interviewed:

• if I want to do well in a job interview, should I deceive my interviewer? Will
my interests best be served if I deceive the interviewer, or will my dishonesty
likely become exposed when I am hired and asked to do something that I
am not capable or qualified to accomplish?
• Honesty is the best policy
• When people say that honesty is the best policy, they are referring to the
idea that if I adopt a policy of lying to people, then my lies will eventually
catch up with me and I will be in a worse‐off position than if I had made
honesty my policy.

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Application Master
socialtitle style ethics
contract

• social contract ethics is a form of ethical universalism, not a form of

ethical relativism
• it will disagree with ethical relativism’s claim that ethics is a purely relative
enterprise without any kind of universal dimensions.
• In the social contract ethics tradition, a main issue is whether the
contract is a good contract or a bad contract.
• As a practical ethic, social contract theory can help us justify
particular moral rules

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As political theory

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Contract
• The social contract was seen as an "occurrence" during which
individuals came together and ceded some of their individual
rights so that others would cede theirs.
• This resulted in the establishment of the state, a sovereign entity
like the individuals now under its rule used to be, which would create
laws to regulate social interactions.
• Human life was thus no longer "a war of all against all".
• Hobbes nonetheless manages to create an argument that makes
civil society, along with all its advantages, possible.

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Example Master
of the Statetitle style
of Nature
Man needs to survive. In his search for food, he competes with other
people. He may resort to stealing food in order for him to survive, the
same with that of other people who are also in need of food. If this
happens, then conflict of chaos arise.
In order to prevent chaos, all persons shall give up their natural right
to steal food.
These rights are surrendered to a Sovereign who would enforce law
and serve the common protection of all.
This Sovereign is a King, who governs by virtue of divine rights, and
anyone who questions the king, actually questions God’s authority.

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Contract style
as a Political theory

• The State of Nature was completely intolerable, and

so rational men would be willing to submit
themselves even to absolute authority in order to
escape the brutality, chaotic world created by
man.
• the necessity of an absolute authority, in the form of a
Sovereign(Leaders), followed from the utter brutality
of the State of Nature.
• Attainment of peace
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State of edit Master title style
Nature

• Why do human beings come together in a state

ruled by a Sovereign?
• Fear of death
• People want to ensure they can live a happy life
• People think they can work towards a peaceful
life

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