Exam 8: Social and Political Philosophy

Which of the following philosophers argued that a law is nothing more than a command issued by a ruler, backed by threats of punishment and maintained by a habit of obedience?

David Hume argued that

Communitarians argue that the state is natural.

According to Nozick, what sort of theory of justice does Rawls develop?

In his defense of civil disobedience, Martin Luther King, Jr. argued that

What, according to Hobbes, is the "chief end" of men uniting into a commonwealth?

Who held that justice consisted of each person doing the job appropriate to their class?

says that individuals give up certain rights and liberties to the state, which guarantees other rights.

Do you believe that liberty is always a good thing for people to have, or not? Explain your answer, and outline what sort of a state it might lead you to endorse.

Drawing from the Crito dialogue (discussed in Chapter 1) do you believe that you have any obligation to obey the state? Support your answer by reference to the theories of at least two of the following: Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau.

What assumptions about human nature does Rawls make in developing his theory of justice using the artifice of the original position? Do you think that these assumptions are justified, or not? If so, do you think that the principles of justice that Rawls develops are binding on persons who were not in the original position (i.e., us)? Why, or why not? If not, do you think that the inadequacy of these assumptions undercut Rawls' views? Explain and justify your answer.

Feuerbach held that philosophy is the science of .

Hobbes believed that nothing could be unjust in the war of all against all.

The view that the wealth that is produced in society belongs to everyone in society is

Who said that the state was "prior to the individual"?

Hegel believed that the state was more than the individual.

Hobbes believed that the authority of the state was justified.

Which of the following is a concept in John Rawl's philosophy that is similar to the concept of the "state of nature"?

Should there be any limits on what the state can do? Would you answer depend on the circumstances in which the state was acting, with it varying between times of peace, and times of war, for example?

What philosopher argues that in a just society work burdens should be distributed according to people's abilities, and benefits should be distributed according to people's needs?