Choose ONE question from each of the following 3 sections, prepare a one page answer for each of the 3 questions in total. Do not answer more than one question from each section. One page for a question for Section I, one page for a question for Section II, and one page for a question for Section III. If you have any questions let me know!
Section I: 1. Although several of the philosophers we have studied begin their analysis with a conception of pre-political society — a state of nature — they come to draw differing conclusions as to the appropriate form of government. Discuss in relation to Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. 2. According to Rousseau “civil society, as it is now constituted, has no claim on the moral adhesion of its subjects: it is unjust”. (Discuss)
Section II: 1. Burkes’ political thought does not stand in opposition to reason, rather it is a warning against the dangers of “rationalism”. There can be no ideal form of government to which all states should conform. (Discuss) 2. Mill was not only concerned with the fact that men should be happy, but also that they should be able to fulfill their individual potential. It is therefore important that the appropriateness of all action be judged in light of the “ultimate principle”. (Discuss)
Section III: 1. According to Tocqueville, the inevitable triumph of democracy, or what he calls the democratic condition, may lead either to a condition of slavery or human freedom. His fear is that the real driving force of democracy, the passion for equality, is compatible with tyranny as well as with liberty. (Discuss) 2. Adam Smith’s hope was for a free. reasonable, comfortable and tolerable life for the whole species, and the key to this lay in the science of economics. (Discuss) 3. In his works, Hume emerges as both a skeptical philosopher and a common-sense moralist and political theorist. (Discuss)
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