SOCI 1010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Tabula Rasa, Collective Agreement, Social Change
2 May 2018
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Lecture 4 – September 25, 2017
Philosophical Roots of Classical Sociological Theory
- The developments in thought over a 150-year period provided the foundation for
sociological theory.
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679):
o Said people are responsible for creating the social world around them and that
society could thus be changed through conscious reflection
▪ Coflited ith ealie elief that huas eisted itue of God’s ill
and possessed very little individual agency (capacity of an entity)
▪ One of the first to view people as responsible and accountable for the
society they create
o Natural State: conception of the human condition before the emergence of
formal social structures
▪ Ex. Government
▪ Believed that people in the natural state existed just as all animals did but
were naturally curious, which inspired them to learn about their social
and physical environment
▪ Believed people are motivated by their self-interests and the pursuit of
power – always in competition with each other, therefore living in fear
▪ Wants always seem to exceed what was available, which led to potential
fo a a of all, agaist all
o In his book Leviathan, argues that since people are naturally rational, in order to
gain peace and protection, they would be willing to enter into a collective
agreement that would see them giving up some of their freedom to an absolute
power – Ex. Democracy, monarchy
▪ Leviathan meaning monster or ruler refers 2 this authority apparatus
o Collective agreement was an important transition in demonstrating the human
capacity to forgo independence in return for collective benefit
▪ Suggested that since leviathan is the result of collective will, the collective
has the right to revolt against it should it fail to fulfill its obligations
▪ Belief that the collective has the responsibility and power to overthrow a
corrupt government was part of the justification behind the French and
American revolutions – recent protests in Egypt, Libya, and Syria
o He asserts that individuals are the basic building blocks of society
▪ “ie huas ae Atie, assetie ad dai egis the appopiate
ole fo goeet is to pesee the idiidual’s ailit to ahiee self-
interests – Ex. Accumulation of wealth – while protecting everyone from
othes’ atual, self-serving inclinations\
John Locke (1639-1704):
o Argued God was responsible for the emergence of society and government
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o Essay Concerning Human Understanding states that people are born tabula rasa
lati fo lak slate
▪ No knowledge independent of experience
o God granted certain rights to people
▪ Ex. Right to self-preservation and private property
▪ Helped secure his belief in the purity of individual autonomy
(independence)
o Using foundation of individual rights, Locke defined the democratic principles
that became the foundation of the American Declaration of Independence
o Disageed ith Hoes’ assetio that people i thei atual state ee so
fearful of each other that they needed a government to protect them
o Locke viewed the emergence of the state as being more about preserving an
idiidual’s ight to aitai popet tha aout peseig idiiduals fo
warring against each other.
▪ Government itself has no rights but only obligations to the members of
society
o Locke agreed with Hobbes that if the state falters in its ability to provide what
the collective needs, it should be overthrown
o Loke’s otiutio to soial theo as his adoa of idiidual feedo ad
autonomy
▪ Democracy and the US Constitution were established using foundation
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Document Summary
The developments in thought over a 150-year period provided the foundation for sociological theory. Accumulation of wealth while protecting everyone from othe(cid:396)s" (cid:374)atu(cid:396)al, self-serving inclinations\ Structure/agency: agency: freedom and independence to live your own lives the way you want, structure: relations and institutions that exist, social change is also important to examine. In the past, it means indivisible: looking at human actions and interactions in society, says you are different from others, not always harmonious, ex. Murder or war understandable as an action: start from the individual and then look at other things. Social institutions have an existence independent of individuals: social institutions are durable, society is independent of you you have a function. Society produces the individual who occupies a specific place in it. Social institutions do not constrain but benefit the individual. Modern social changes are tearing society apart. Individual not the appropriate unit of analysis: reconstitute former order - social hierarchies.
