Philosophy 1020 Lecture 15: Lecture #15 Notes
26 Jan 2016
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Since no man has a natural authority over his fellow man, and since force does not give rise to any right, conventions therefore remain the basis of all legitimate authority among men. (sc i. 4) The structure of rousseau"s argument: p v q v r, ~ p, ~ q, therefore, r. Our idea today: wait, there"s another option: s, the principle of fair play. A person who has accepted the benefits of a mutually beneficial [and just] scheme of social cooperation is bound to do her part and not take advantage of the free benefits by not cooperating. An analogy: the officious intermeddler" in the law of unjust enrichment. Simmons: this ignores the difference between mere beneficiaries and beneficiaries who are also participants, that is, between merely being in receipt of a benefit and accepting a benefit. One can accept a benefit without consenting to the scheme that provided it.
