Political Science 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Natural Abundance

• School: Western University
• Department: Political Science
• Course: Political Science 1020E
• Professor: Charles Jones

Document Summary

The state of nature: smith: individual ambition serves the common good (follow own ideals, nash: the (cid:271)est results (cid:272)o(cid:373)es fro(cid:373) a(cid:374)yo(cid:374)e fro(cid:373) doi(cid:374)g (cid:449)hat(cid:859)s (cid:271)est for hi(cid:373)self a(cid:374)d the group (must take into consideration) Locke vs hobbes: locke and hobbes give different interpretations of these key ideas, equality, law of nature, natural liberty. Enforcing law of nature: law of nature is not in vain, so need enforcer, executive power law of nature, epln includes the right to punish. State of nature: scarcity or abundance: hobbes: natural scarcity and conflict, locke: natural abundance of land, cultivate your own land, work for it. Self-preservation vs compassion: scarcity creates a problem, self-preservation trumps pity, fact that we feel compassion for others will not rule out conflict, so, war seems inevitable. The natural savage: wolff says that they were solitary, no language, fears only pain and hunger, more like an orangutan, no sense of oneself, no self-consciousness, desires only food, sex, and sleep.