Study Questions for Manuel Velasquez, Philosophy, 8th edition

Chapter 8: Social Philosophy

Last Updated January 24, 2002

JUSTIFYING THE STATE

1. To what question(s) are the theories of social contract meant to supply an answer? (609)

2. How does Thomas Hobbes conceive humans (in their "natural condition")? What would happen, according to Hobbes, if humans lived "without a common power" over them? (609-610)

3. What passions incline people to peace? How does reason lead people to enter a social contract? (610-11) What kind of a state does Hobbes favor? (611)

4. According to John Locke, human beings even prior to the existence of a state had natural (i.e., moral) rights to life (not to be killed), to liberty (not to be enslaved or kidnaped), and to property (freedom from theft, arson, etc.). Occasionally people would even respect each other's rights. Why, then, did Locke think individuals would enter into a social contract? (611-12). How does a legitimate state according to Locke differ from a viable state according to Hobbes? (612-13)

5. What is David Hume's chief criticism of these early social contract theories? (616)

6. What is John Rawls' conception of the social contract? (616-18)

JUSTICE

7. According to J. S. Mill, what is the ultimate criterion of justice? How would Mill describe "the just society"? (636) For what, according to Mill, is justice a name? (637)

8. What "troublesome" problem might be raised about the utilitarian view of justice? (638-39)

9. When we think of justice in terms of retribution, what kind of justice are we thinking of? (627)

10. What is distributive justice? (627-28)

11. What is the formal principle of justice? Why does this principle not settle all issues related to justice? (629)

12. How does Plato justify severe class distinctions in his society? (630-32)

13. How does Velasquez summarize the doctrine of justice as merit? (632) State different versions of the view that justice is merit? (Lecture)

14. How can we summarize the view known as strict egalitarianism? (633) In what contexts is it most plausible to apply egalitarianism? (633-34) What problems might this approach produce?

15. What "modified egalitarianism" does V. then mention? (Is this superior to strict egalitarianism? Explain.) (635)

16. What principle of justice does V. call "socialist" view? (639) Where is this already applied in our (non-socialist) society? What are some objections to the universal application of this principle? (640)

17. Describe Rawls' principles of justice. (Note: It is misleading to call Rawls' view welfare liberalism: it is about much more than providing disadvantaged people with what they need.) How do Rawls' equal opportunity and difference principles (2a and 2b) together produce a "win-win" situation for the most talented and the least advantaged persons in society? (641-42) For more on Rawls see pp. 669-72. (For an even fuller discussion of Rawls' ideas, as he developed them in the late 1970's and 1980's, see A Primer of Recent Moral Philosophy.)

RIGHTS

18. What is a right? (See McCloskey definition, p. 654)

19. How are rights related to duties? (654)

20. Distinguish moral rights from legal rights? What other term is sometimes used for "moral rights"? (654) Do legal rights sometimes express and defend moral rights? Do they always?

21. How are "positive" rights distinguished from "negative" rights? (654-55) (Note: the terms "positive" and "negative" do not imply a positive or a negative evaluation of these rights; that is a separate issue, and there is controversy about it.) What kind of rights do you think a libertarian or "classical liberal" like John Hospers or Robert Nozick favors? (See 676-78, which comes from Hospers, and 643-44, which discusses Nozick's critique of Rawls' "liberalism"). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (653)? (For the complete version of this important document, click here.) Thomas Donaldson (656)?

CRITIQUES OF THE DOMINANT MODERN WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

22. According to feminist writers, what separation has kept women in an inherently unequal position? What evidence can be given for this statement? (622-24) Does this necessarily imply that those who favor women's social equality must abandon social contract theory? (626)

23. How does Martin L. King defend the right, under certain circumstances, to break a law? Upon what moral tradition does King draw? (647-49)

24. What, according to Malcolm X, is the political philosophy of black nationalism? (679) What would Malcolm X say about who was included in the actual social contract of 20th century America? What kind of social contract might Malcolm X have favored? (Read between the lines: 678-80)