An Introduction to Philosophy Lecture 08: Political Philosophy James Mooney Open Studies The University of Edinburgh j.mooney@ed.ac.uk www.filmandphilosophy.com @film_philosophy

1. Political
Philosophy
An Introduction to Philosophy: 08
© James Mooney 2012

2. Plato’s Crito
The origins of Social Contract Theory

3. ‘… there will be no end
to the troubles of states,
or indeed … of
humanity itself, until
philosophers become
kings in this world, or
until those we now call
kings and rulers really
and truly become
philosophers.’
Republic, Book V 473d-473e

4. The Harmonious The Harmonious
Individual State
The Governing Class
Reason
(Philosophers)
…is to rule with the aid of …
…are to rule with the aid of …
The Protective Class
Spirit
(Military)
…in order to keep …
…in order to keep …
The Productive Class
Appetite
(Workers)
…in check
…in check

5. The Prisoner’s Dilemma
If you confess there’s a chance you
could go free, and your partner could
go away for a long time. Stay silent
and there’s every chance that he’ll
be the one leaving you to rot. What
should you do? Bear in mind, no
conferring.
Prisoner A Prisoner A
stays silent confesses
Prisoner B Both serve 1 yr A goes free/
stays silent B serves 10 yrs
Prisoner B B goes free/ Both serve 5 yrs
confesses A serves 10 yrs

6. Social Contract Theory
“Hereby it is manifest, that during
Fear & Security the time men live without a common
power to keep them all in awe [i.e.
in the state of nature], they 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,
Thomas Hobbes brutish, and short.’
Leviathan (1651)
1588-1679

7. ‘All moanday, tearsday, wailsday,
thumpsday, frightday, shatterday
till the fear of the Law.’

8. States of Nature Compared
Hobbes Locke
Scarcity Abundance
+ +
Man driven by appetite Man essentially rational
+ +
Equality of mental and Recognition of formal equality
physical powers and rights of others
leads to leads to
unremitting conflict generally peaceful state of nature

9. Social Contract Theory
Tacit Consent
‘Every man being, as has been showed,
naturally free, and nothing being able to put
him into subjection to any earthly power, but
only his own consent, it is to be considered
what shall be understood to be a sufficient
declaration of a man's consent to make him
subject to the laws of any government … And
to this I say, that every man that has any
possession or enjoyment of any part of the
dominions of any government doth thereby
give his tacit consent, and is as far forth
obliged to obedience to the laws of that
government, during such enjoyment, as any
one under it, whether this his possession be of
land to him and his heirs for ever, or a
lodging only for a week; or whether it be
barely travelling freely on the highway; and,
in effect, it reaches as far as the very being of
anyone within the territories of that
John Locke
government . . .’ (1632-1704)

10. David Hume
(1711-1776)
Hume’s Ship
‘Of the Original
Contract’ in
Essays Moral and
Political (1748)

11. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
(1712-1778)
‘Man was born free,
and he is everywhere in
chains. Those who
think themselves the
masters of others are
indeed greater slaves
than they.’
Social Contract (1762)

12. John Stuart Mill
(1806-1873)
On Liberty (1859)
‘The tyranny of the majority’

13. The Harm Principle
‘The sole end for which mankind are
warranted, individually or
collectively, in interfering with the
liberty of action of any of their
number, is self protection. That the
only purpose for which power can be
rightfully exercised over any member
of a civilised community, against his
will, is to prevent harm to others”

14. The Only Freedom which Deserves the Name
“The only freedom which deserves the name,
is that of pursuing our own good in our own
way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive
others of theirs, or impede their efforts to
obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his
own health, whether bodily, or mental and
spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by
suffering each other to live as seems good to
themselves, than by compelling each to live as
seems good to the rest . . .”

15. Freedom of Expression
“If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and
only one person were of the contrary opinion,
mankind would be no more justified in silencing that
one person than he, if he had the power, would be
justified in silencing mankind … the peculiar evil of
silencing the expression of an opinion is that it is
robbing the human race; posterity as well as the
existing generation; those who dissent from the
opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the
opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity
of exchanging error for truth; if wrong, they lose what
is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and
livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision
with error.”

16. Links
• Angela Merkel on integration
• Sarkozy on the Burqa
• Cameron on Multiculturalism
• Jyllands Posten cartoons

17. Details
James Mooney
Open Studies
The University of Edinburgh
j.mooney@ed.ac.uk
www.filmandphilosophy.com
@film_philosophy