Two brilliant philosophers of the seventeenth century developed theories on how humankind develops socially from the human state of nature. ... These two philosophers, even though they both believe in the social contract developing out of the state of nature, differ in how they develop what they believe the social contract is and what the state of nature is, for what and how it came to be, and the role it plays in society and government today. ... Overall, philosophers Locke and Rousseau both believed that in the state of nature, man eventually will desire some sort of organization, thus deve...

• Word Count: 1544
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

(Porter, 161-168) As time wore on, many men began looking back to earlier writers and philosophers such as Descartes and Newton. ... Philosophers and intellectuals at the time of the Enlightenment strived to discover the laws that rule this orderly universe. ... Rene Descartes, a French philosopher and scientist, believed that reason and rationality defined all sciences and philosophies. ... This type of rationalism was developed by other European philosophers, such as the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza and the German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Descartes" the...

• Word Count: 2303
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In his best work "Two treatises on government " the philosopher point out that the state of nature does not have the Hobbes' negative sides of conflict and passion's domain. ... According to the philosopher, the most important factor is the self-govern of individuals; they will have only those rights that the whole society has decided to self-attribute. ...

• Word Count: 2282
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Voltaire is considered to be one of the most famous Enlightenment philosophers. ... Claude Adrien Helvetius was another French philosopher who developed theories during the Enlightenment. ... Jeremy Bentham, a British philosopher, masterfully combines Helvetius's blank slate theory with the blatant optimism of the Enlightenment creating a movement called Utilitarianism. ...

• Word Count: 1343
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

John Locke, a renowned English philosopher, rejected the religious theory, because he said that if knowledge comes from God and God loves all of his children equally then we should all have roughly the same amount of knowledge. ... Another prodigious philosopher is Rene Descartes, who objects the realist theory. ... Some philosophers say we can distinguish between reality and dreams because reality happens in sequence and dreams are disordered and skip around. ... This example causes philosophers to question whether or not we are actually alive. ...

• Word Count: 2057
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

John Locke was born in Wrington, Somerset on August 29, 1632. He was the eldest of his fathers two sons. His father John (him and his father shared the same first name) was a lawyer and a small landowner, he also served as a clerk for justices for the peace. His mother, Agnes Keene, was the daughte...

• Word Count: 1805
• Approx Pages: 7

Through the hypotheses and experiments conducted by philosophers dating back to Aristotle, the theories of biological determinism and environmental determinisms each have many strengths and many weaknesses. ... The modern understanding of this ancient theory of tabula rasa can be largely attributed to English philosopher and scholar, John Locke, who wrote on the subject in his work An Essay Concerning Human Understanding published in 1690. ... Throughout history philosophers have debated whether biological determinism and environmental determinism have more of an impact on the development of...

• Word Count: 1520
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

These philosophers all recognize that people develop a social contract within their society, but have differing views on what exactly the social contract is and how it is established. ... Each philosopher agrees that before men came to govern themselves, they all existed in a state of nature. ... The three philosophers developed differing versions of the social contract, but all agreed that certain freedoms had been surrendered in order to ...

• Word Count: 1674
• Approx Pages: 7

So one can understand how each philosopher's distinct idea of man's place in the state of nature leads him to his separate conception of the proper role of sovereignty in society. ... Whether either philosopher was fully correct is a question that cannot be fully answered due to our current social condition. But rest assured that if society ever fully crumbles in the future and we find ourselves in a Mad Maxian state of nature, we will quickly find out which philosopher was correct. ...

• Word Count: 1544
• Approx Pages: 6

Locke and Rousseau were two great philosophers of the Enlightenment. While both writers agreed that before civilized society man existed in a state of nature, that is, humans lacked society or structure, they disagreed on what constituted freedom. Differences in their opinion on freedom stems from t...

• Word Count: 2158
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Three Basic Views of Property: The Correlation of an Idea John Locke's ideas on general property, Karl Marx's ideas of labor and wages, and Adam Smith's ideas on the rent of property and the circumstances that balance employment seem to correlate. Even though these men lived many years ago, and years apart from each other, they seem to have similar ideas and those ideas are still in practice today. John Locke was very passionate about his feelings toward what man's rights were, and what his needs were. These things include food, drink, and property. He believed tha...

• Word Count: 1961
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

According to Alexander Spirkin, a Russian philosopher, "People are constantly afloat in an atmosphere of communication. ... There are many philosophers that believe that although verbal language is important, it is not the basis of all communication. ...

• Word Count: 1606
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Moreover, by identifying these aspects of The Watchmen, along with the use of philosophies ranging from philosophers like Lao-tzu, Martin Heidegger, and Kierkegaard. ... The German philosopher Martin Heidegger addresses the matter of one's self, based on one being measured through their time lived. ...

• Word Count: 1472
• Approx Pages: 6

1. a. Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes masterpiece conveys his will to erase all the previous beliefs and principles that was instilled in him during his childhood and start on a clean slate. His aim was the rebuilding of knowledge from the basics. The only way he was to accomplish this...

• Word Count: 2135
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

Capital Punishment "Killing me is not going to bring back anybody, and I don't think it's gonna remove any of the hatred from those people's hearts.... In turn, my family suffers, and the cycle continues"(Mother Jones). These are the words of Richard Drinkard; Drinkard murdered three people with a...

• Word Count: 1377
• Approx Pages: 6

Baron Montesquieu's, an influential French philosopher believed that in order to protect the liberty of the people, the government should be divided into three branches: the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. ...

• Word Count: 1390
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In Frankenstein, the theme of the brutality in human nature is presented in the eponymous character, with an 'eager desire to learn' and an obsessive nature, which obstructs his personal relationships and displaces his sense of humanity. This obsession is heightened by the idea of creating lif...

• Word Count: 1673
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

As early as the late seventeenth century, philosopher John Locke's theory of tabula rasa, "blank slate, "stated that "the human mind receives knowledge and forms itself based on experience alone, without any pre-existing innate ideas that would serve as a starting point" " (Tabula rasa "). ...

• Word Count: 1453
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Merriam-Webster diction defines freedom as, "the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in a choice of action. "The most common related themes of freedom in todays society pertains to freedom of speech, freedom of press, and other freedoms we now take for granted stated in the Declaration of ...

• Word Count: 1755
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography

Hobbes and Locke in our time Nowadays, especially after the terrorist acts on September 11, 2001 and the war in Iraq, terrorism is a top issue, that turns the attention of the whole world. The reason for that is that the nations are threatened for their security and safety. Constant conflicts and...

• Word Count: 1676
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Several eminent figures in history from philosopher Immanuel Kant to economist Adam Smith to biologist/naturalists Charles Darwin and Thomas Huxley credit David Hume as being the central influence in their writings. ...

• Word Count: 1547
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In the Enlightenment period, there were different views concerning life and religion. The beliefs of many changed from one to the next. Changes in the economy and social standings were very prominent but the idea of progress was most important. The advances in science and technology were said to hav...

• Word Count: 1452
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Social Contract Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacque Rousseau are the thinkers of "modern solution". Unlike classics and reformation thinkers, for whom the Bible was the main important source, thinkers of modern solution followed new progressive methods and new way of thinking, which appeare...

• Word Count: 1724
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Throughout this paper I will look at each respective philosopher's moral requirements in the state of nature, and then discern which theories would be most beneficial to forming a successful societal framework. ...

• Word Count: 1819
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

We live in a world which invites challenge, the necessity of which allows us to improve. When we are unprepared for a challenge, we typically fail. Preparation is vital. Richard Flavell, the thinker behind the interplay of metacognition, sparked a revolution of how those with mental disabilities oug...

• Word Count: 1724
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate