Social Construct According to Locke - Term Paper Example

For man to have absolute authority over his fellow human beings, he must enter into a common agreement with them (D'Agostino 56). This paper will elaborate how different philosophers had different ideas on theories of social contract. It is believed that, social contract is a philosophy on its own. An agreement exists between politicians and their constituents. The social contract theory is correctly associated the modern, political and moral theories. Philosophers who have had different theories on the social contract include; Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Aristotle and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

These philosophers are well known for their influential theories on the social contract. The dominant theories among these philosophers lie within the political and moral theories. These theories regained a kind of philosophical momentum as time elapsed. Recently, more philosophers have added their contributions on the social contract theories. The latest entrants being race-conscious and feminist philosophers, they have contributed significantly to the theories. They argue that the social contract theory is an incomplete picture of the political and moral lives.

One of the greatest philosophers was Socrates and he made a very compelling argument. He was supporting the idea of him remaining in prison so that he could face death penalty and not escape the city of Greece as many people would have thought. He embraced the laws of Athens and he even personified them. He felt that he had to obey the entire laws because they had made him whom he was (Mandel 60). He believed that the laws were made to be followed by every individual. Socrates believed that laws were made by their fellow human beings and therefore had to be followed to the latter.

In this example, social contract between people is said to be the laws that govern most people. These laws state how people should relate with each other. Plato was also another great philosopher. He is famous for his well-known dialogue Republic. In this dialogue, the social contract theory is well represented at its best. In his second book, he tries to explore the real meaning of justice. Plato believed that injustices that are meted against fellow human beings were quite unfair. He explains that justice is as a result of conventional laws and agrees that human beings make in order to avoid atrocities against each other.

According to Plato, he believes that men submit themselves to the very tenets of convention of justice. They do this simply because they have the feeling of committing injustice and impunity against their fellow human being. The social contract theory is elaborated in this instance because we find that there is a common agreement between the people and the judicial system simply put, the rule of law has to be strictly adhered to. On the other hand, Socrates rejects this view. He says that justice worth having and man is just a happy person.

He believes that justice has value and that people should not just take it on its surface value. Thomas Hobbes was another great philosopher who lived in the England. He lived to witness the English civil war that was waged between the years 1642 and 1648. To explain this war, he vividly remembers the war was between the supporters and the monarchy. The king preferred the monarch type of rule. On the other hand, the parliamentarians demanded more power and wanted democratic institutions.