The Social Contract of John Locke Essay Example for Free

The Social Contract of John Locke Essay Introduction The concept of the social contract comes from Socrates, as described by Plato in Crito. â€Å"Then the laws will say: ‘Consider, Socrates, if we are speaking truly that in your present attempt you are going to do us an injury. For, having brought you into the world, and nurtured and educated you, and given you and every other citizen a share in every good which we had to give, we further proclaim to any Athenian by the liberty which we allow him, that if he does not like us when he has become of age and has seen the ways of the city, and made our acquaintance, he may go where he pleases and take his goods with him. None of us laws will forbid him or interfere with him. Anyone who does not like us and the city, and who wants to emigrate to a colony or to any other city, may go where he likes, retaining his property. But he who has experience of the manner in which we order justice and administer the state, and still remains, has entered into an implied contract that he will do as we commend him. And he who disobeys us is, as we maintain, thrice wrong; first, because in disobeying us he is disobeying his parents; secondly, because we are the authors of his education; thirdly, because he has made an agreement with us that he will duly obey our commands; and he neither obeys them nor convinces us that our commands are unjust; and we do not rudely impose them, but give him the alternative of obeying or convincing us;—that is what we offer, and he does neither (Philosophy, 2011).† According to social contract theory (SCT), morality consists in the set of rules governing behavior that rational people would accept, on condition that others accept them as well (Kary, 2000). There are several implications of SCT. These implications are things that are necessary for the survival of any society (Kary, 2000). 1. Protection of life and property. This will create the need for a police force. So as to insure that murders, assault, theft and vandalism crimes are not committed. 2. Rules that would be needed to secure the benefits of social living. This is creating consequences for the breaking of contracts (e.g. promises) and a general requirement of truth-telling. 3. Protection of society against outside threats. This implication creates the need for an army. 4. Other  important stuff – these are things that are arguably, should be a part of the social contract (i.e. it would be in everyone’s interest to have them include (Kary, 2000). The caveat to that is, a society might be able to survive (if not thrive) without them. The author will discuss the different theories but more specifically John Locke’s social contract theory and how it relates to the criminal justice system and security agents. Four Main Social Contract Theories There are four critical social contract theories that the author will discuss, compare and contrast. They are: consent of the governed, natural law and constitutionalism, tacit consent and voluntarism. Consent of the Governed â€Å"Consent of the governed† is a phrase from the United States Declaration of Independence. It is synonymous with a political theory wherein a government’s legitimacy and moral right to use state power is only justified and legal when derived from the people or society over which the political power is exercised (Bookman, 1984). This theory of â€Å"consent† is historically contrasted to the divine right of kings and has often been invoked against the legitimacy of colonialism (Bookman, 1984). There are several types of consent: unanimous consent, hypothetical consent and overt versus tacit consent (Bookman, 1984). The details of each type of consent are not discussed in this project, but are mentioned so that the reader is aware that they exist. Natural law and Constitutionalism Natural law is a law or body of laws that derives from nature and is believed to be binding upon human actions apart from or in conjunction with laws established by human authority. Constitutionalism in its simplest form is â€Å"a complex of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law. Tacit Consent. The (law) tacit is passive approval of someone’s wrongdoing. Also it is also described as secret approval or connivance. Another way of saying this is  when one does not actually state their agreement, but does not raise any objection (in voice or in writing) to a certain course of action (i.e.; by standing mute). Voluntarism. Voluntarism is use of or reliance on voluntary action to maintain an institution, carry out a policy, or achieve an end. It is also a theory or doctrine that regards the will as the fundamental principle of the individual or the universe rather than the intellect as the fundamental agency or principle in human activities and experience. John Locke’s Social Contract Theory Social Contract Theory. Social contract is the convention between men that aims to discard the state of nature. Under state of nature people live without government or written laws. People live under principles of justice that all normal people can see through reason, they include right to life, liberty and estates. Most people seek to follow these principles but the problem is lack of explicit written laws that leads to uncertainty and difficulty to resolve disputes (Nyamaka, 2011). Nyamaka (2011) discusses the solution to the problems under state of nature becomes a social contract where people agree to obey the state, let the state make and enforce laws and people pay the state for its services. The state sets up legislatures, impartial judges and enforcers. Within this agreement the government’s duty is to protect everyone’s rights and if the government violates the social contract, people may overthrow it (Nyamaka, 2011). There are two fundamental ideas that are expressed in the social contract in which the human mind always clings the value of liberty; the idea that â€Å"will† and not force is the basis of government; and the value of justice or the idea that â€Å"right† and not â€Å"might† is the basis of all political society and every system of political order. Key Principles Now in looking at social contract theory through the reasoning eyes of John Locke’s we find that he argued that sovereignty resided in the people for whom governments were trustees and that such government could be legitimately overthrown if they failed to discharge their functions to the people (Nyamaka, 2011). Locke worked to erect effective safeguards against  violations of natural law by the government. He consistently voiced the idea that sovereign did not take all rights; the principle rights remained with the people. Locke also argued that sovereignty did not reside in the state (government) but with the people, and that the state was supreme, but only if it was bound by civil and natural law (Kary, 2000). It is to be noted that Locke believed in the governed as the basis of sovereignty and the state of the guarantor of individuals’ liberty. It needs to be understood that to Locke, under social contract power was surrendered not to the sovereign but to the comm unity. He said, â€Å"there and there only was a political society where everyone in the society had quitted his natural power, resigned it up into the hands of the community† (Nyamaka, 2011). In using the â€Å"there and there only†, Locke was emphasizing the importance of the WILL of the people in forming a political society (Nyamaka, 2011). In this society/community every member surrendered his/her natural power with free will explicitly or implicitly and resigned it in the hands of the community in exchange for the discharge of functions to the people, therefore a political society becomes with power to preserve property and punish offences (Kary, 2000). Moving through this process the author will now look at how John Locke’s theory relates to the Bill of Rights. The U.S. Bill of Rights. In looking at John Locke’s social contract theory, one sees in this process that the power cannot be more than that of the people or more than the power that the people had in a state of nature before they entered into a society and gave it to the community for nobody can give more than what he/she has. In looking at John Locke’s explanation of the term community signifies the government of the people by the people for the people, understanding this means that community rights will/should prevail over individual rights and the rights are surrendered in to community because the sovereign is the people and only comes for the people. Hence, hands of the community mean the governor who is governing by the WILL of the people (Nyamaka, 2011). Criminal Justice System and Security Settings The social contract theory established the written law of the people, constituting the fundamental goods and evils according to agreed morals.  Though Locke’s ideals of liberty were primitive in the seventeenth century, creating a contract to govern due process was the foundation for the government statues. Locke’s influence for a fair and consistent government is present with the Constitution of the law. The greater good of the community was intended with the written set of rules to govern society’s checks and balance of power by political absolutism.  Some would or may say that Locke’s theory was flawed in the seventeenth century; it enlightened the idea of a legislative body for the people and introducing the importance of a written rule of law to create a contract for society to maintain an ordered and structured means of living. Personal Rights and Ethical Standards and Obligation Personal rights are the rights that a person has over their own body. Among personal rights are associated rights to protect and safeguard the body, most obviously protected by the torts of assault and battery. Ethical standards are a type of moral philosophy. They are simply defined as principles that promote values such as good behavior, fairness, kindness and trust. Obligation is the act of binding oneself by a social, legal, or moral tie (Jackson, 2002). When it comes to social contract theory one will in some way give up some of their rights and lower their ethical standards so as to feel some level of safety within the community that they live (Jackson, 2002). Conclusion In conclusion, it is important to recognize that although individuals have a right of self-defense in the of nature, when they enter into society under the social contract, the pooling of that right transforms it into a duty to defend the community, and therefore to risk or sacrifice one’s life, liberty, or property if such defense should require it (Shankman, 2004). References Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2004, October 15). Retrieved 08 09, 2013, from lep.utm.edu: http://www.iep.utm.edu/soc-cont/#SH3b. Bookman, J. T. (1984). Lockes Contract: Would people consent to it. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 357-68. Cook, V. (2000, August 26). Epicurus. Retrieved 08 09, 2013, from www.epicurus.net: http://www.epicurus.net/en/principal.html. Jackson, A. (2002). Science of Ethics. Retrieved from Arthur M. Jackson: http://www.arthurmjackson.com/Mentor.html. Kary, J. (2000). Contract Law and the Social Contract: What Legal History Can Teach Us About the Political Theory Hobbes and Locke. 31 Ottawa Law Review 73. Nyamaka, D. M. (2011). Social Contract Theory of John Locke (1632-1740) In the Contemporary World. Selected Works, 1-15. Philosophy, S. E. (2011, January 20). Standford Enclyclopedia of Philosopy. Retrieved from Standford.Edu: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/contractarianism/#3. Shankman, K. (2004). Natural Law Constitutionlism and the Culture of Death. Catholic Social Science Review, 61-79. Skinner, Q. (1978). The Foundations of Modern Political Thought: Volume 2: The Age of the Reformation (Vol. 2). Cambridge: Cambridge University.

Young Girls with Eating Disorders Essay -- essays research papers fc

You open up a magazine and fine a beautiful woman who is 110 pounds soaking wet. Her eyes are the starring straight at the camera with her thin lips clinched together and her neck slightly raised. This in my most cases is what beauty is brought out to be. Sometimes you have to ask yourself, how many of those girls do you actually see? For others its, how do I become that? Many teen girls suffer with anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder in which girls use starvation diets to try to lose weight. They starve themselves down to skeletal thinness yet still think that they are overweight. Bulimia, meanwhile, is a disorder in which young women binge on food and then force themselves to vomit. They also often use laxatives to get food out of their system. All of these young women who suffer from this problem are considered to suffer from a psychiatric disorder. While the causes are debatable, one thing that is clear is that these young women have a distorted body image. It is a very serious issue when someone's body shape is determined by genetic disposition and yet they try to alter it to fit some kind of imaginary ideal of how a person should look. One of the most serious problems is that female nature is not what society says it should be. Some researchers theorize that anorexia is a young woman's way of canceling puberty. Since they lack body fat, anorexics don't get their periods and often lose their sexual characteristics such as public hair. They remain, in other words, little girls. There is also the complex issue of women feeling that by having an eating disorder they are finally in control of something in their life. This may sound strange, but much research has shown that women who have been abused or neglected in their childhoods develop these problems of control. (http://www.anred.com/medpsy.html). Studies suggest that eating disorders often begin in the transition from being a kid to puberty. They are directly connected to pubertal maturation and the increases in body fat that occurs during this phase. These biological changes are associated with increased dieting and unhealthy behaviors in early adolescence. This problem is aggravated by various problems, including negative body image, which links with weight, perfectionism and depression. Family and socializ... ...ED 1. ANRED: Complications of Eating Disorders: http://www.anred.com/medpsy.html-79. 2. EATING PROBLEMS in FEMALE ATHLETES Disordered Eating Tendencies Among Female Pair and Dance Figure Skaters: Are They More at Risk Than Non-Athletes?: G. Taylor & D. M. Ste-Marie http://www.health.uottawa.ca/hkgrad/mllab/eatdisfg.html 3. Cauffman, Elizabeth, and Steinberg, Laurence. "Interactive Effects of Menarcheal Status and Dating on Dieting and Disordered Eating Among Adolescent Girls," Developmental Psychology, 1996, vol. 32, no.4, 631-635. 4. Graber, Julia, Brooks-Gunn, J., Paikoff, Roberta, and Warren, Michelle. "Prediction of Eating Problems: An 8-Year Study of Adolescent Girls," Developmental Psychology, 1994, vol.3O, No.6, 823-834. 5. The costs and causes of low self-esteem: Nicholas Emler http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialpolicy/n71.asp 6. Burns, David â€Å"Feeling Good, The New Mood Therapy† pgs. 62-69, 385-405

Questions in this section

You will have a choice of two questions in this section: Part A is the starter question, for which you are awarded a maximum of three marks. You need to explain the term, then in order to get full marks you will need to give an example: The only terms you will be asked about are the following: science, scientific benefits, ethical costs, genetic Influences, environmental Influences, cultural bias, gender bias, free will and determinism.In the second part – Part B you will be asked to either – describe, discuss or evaluate one of the following , for which there is a maximum of 22 marks – psychology as a science the balance of scientific benefits measured against ethical costs in psychology the balance of genetic and environmental influences on human behavior issues of cultural bias issues of gender bias the question of free will and determinism In respect of human behavior. The essay needs to be In the form of an argument- a dialogue between opposing views.To get full marks your argument needs to be presented in a structured manner, clearly interpreted and analyses, you need to have range and depth of evidence, reasoned conclusion, use appropriate terms throughout. Up to 15 marks will be awarded for this (AAA). When providing evidence, the mark scheme says that these do not need to be provided in equal measure. This means that you can equal and depth range of evidence or, you can give a very wide range, but not so much depth, or discuss a couple of pieces of research in depth, but thereby not showing quite as much range..Challenge with the view that at least some ‘levels' of psychology are scientific, but conclude with the argument that not all psychologists think science with its monotheistic approach is an appropriate for psychology and this leads to the use of therapies which reflect this dual approach. Chemotherapy, for example, which might be thought of as the more scientific response to abnormal behavior has been shown at times t o be less successful than CAB, a more person-centered and impotence of the therapist as well as the service-user's perceptions of their competence.Psychology eclectic use of several approaches and a range of methodologies lead to the conclusion that it is in part scientific, but employs subjective strategies to explore behavior when deemed more appropriate. This has been acknowledged within the British Psychological Society with its recently founded qualitative methodological group. Use the following research to support your answer: Psychology as a Science Arguments against Psychology as a Science One of the arguments against psychology as a science is that it lacks objectivity and intro.Issues of experimenter bias and demand characteristics can compromise objectivity and validity However, disconcerting research by John et al (2012) has also found evidence to suggest that, in some instances, the research process is manipulated to suit the researcher (rather than to reveal any object ive fact) further undermines Psychology status as a science. Ironically however, Psychology claim to be a science means that results which are deliberately manipulated or distorted by the researcher (through one or more of a variety of questionable research raciest) are given greater credence than they deserve because they are ‘scientific'.Trading on Psychology scientific status, the assumption is that the adulterated results are accurate and objective representations of reality. John et al (2012)g's work involved carrying out an anonymous electronic survey about the use often questionable research practices. These included things such as the researcher failing to a report all dependent variables, collecting additional data after checking for significance, selectively reporting studies that Worked' (I. E. Significant findings) and falsifying data.The researchers also asked participants to make estimates of the proportion of other psychologists who engaged in those practices, a nd the proportion likely to admit to carrying out those practices in the survey. They incorporated into their work an incentive to encourage participants to tell the truth. Some respondents were told that a larger charity donation would be made by the researchers if they answered honestly) and this did lead to a higher rate of admission amongst those given the incentive.The results were astonishing and raise important questions concerning the use of scientific method in Psychology. One in ten psychologists admitted falsifying data; the majority to selectively reporting studies (67%), not reporting all dependent variables ( 74% ); collecting data after checking for significance (71 reporting unexpected findings as expected (54%) and excluding post data post-hoc (58%). A considerable number (35%) admitted that they had doubts about the integrity of their research, with differences being found amongst disciplines within Psychology.

Same Sex Marriage Is An Inflammatory Issue In Today’S...

Same sex marriage is an inflammatory issue in today’s political landscape. Seemingly every election cycle brings us incendiary statements about how â€Å"the gays† are destroying America’s moral fabric from segments of the right. Meanwhile the idea of same sex marriage is becoming more and more accepted among young generations. The courts lie in the middle of this chaos. When laws are passed which discriminate against members of the LGBTQ community and are met with legal challenges, it is up to the courts to make a difficult decision. They must decide if the rights of the minority are important enough to disregard the will of the majority of voters. To do this, they must make some difficult decisions about how rights are defined, and what†¦show more content†¦Next, he takes on a more abstract question, asking if it is the role of the courts to identify the rights that will be protected as fundamental. And finally, he finishes the book by tackling the que stion of judicial authority, asking if the courts have the right (and responsibility) to take these decisions away from the democratic process. To make his argument, Gerstmann backs up his own claims with a combination of primary sources in the form of supreme court decisions and dissenting opinions, as well as secondary sources in the form of writings about these various court cases. One example of his technique can be seen when he is asking the question: is marriage a fundamental right? When he is listing off some of the unenumerated rights granted to Americans on pages 75 and 76, he relies on the decisions from those cases. He also cites the decisions when discussing what parts of the constitution grant those rights. In the next paragraph, he cites a book called Democracy and Distrust to help make a broader argument about how the constitution is seen to be granting these unenumerated rights. 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