Introduction to Philosophy
Instructor: James
Ransom
March 13, 2013
Locke’s Second Treatise on Civil Government
Study Questions
CHAPTER I
How does Locke distinguish
political power from the powers of masters, parents, husbands, and
slaveholders?
CHAPTER II
How does Locke's concept
of the natural condition or state of man (the so-called "state of
nature") compare and contrast with Hobbes's concept in chapter 13 of Leviathan?
CHAPTER III
How does Locke's
understanding of the "state of war" differ from Hobbes's, again as
found in chapter 13 of Leviathan?
CHAPTER IV
How do Locke's ideas of
natural freedom and equality differ from Hobbes's? (cf. Leviathan 14).
CHAPTER V
What does Locke mean by
"property"? What makes something valuable? What is the nature of
money?
CHAPTER VII
What is the purpose of
political society? Why do men wish to leave the state of nature?
CHAPTER VIII
How are civil or political
societies begun? Who has the authority to govern? Can't individuals ever escape their social
obligations and form new societies?
CHAPTER IX
What is the main objective
of organized society? What are the principal defects of the state of nature?
What powers or rights does one give up upon entering society? What is the
"common good."
CHAPTER X
What are the main
governmental models or forms that a society may choose?
CHAPTER XI
What is the ultimate
purpose of the legislative (or law-making or governing) power of a political
society. ("Society," "civil society," "political
society," and "commonwealth" are generally synonymous in Locke's
writings.)
CHAPTER XII
What are the three
fundamental powers of government?
CHAPTER XIII
What does Locke mean when
he says that the legislative power is a "fiduciary power"? Who
possesses the ultimate power in society?
CHAPTER XVI
What power does a
conqueror have over the conquered society? (Compare this to Hobbes's position
in chapter 20 of Leviathan.)
CHAPTER XVII
Does a “usurper” acquire
legitimate political authority?
CHAPTER XVIII
What is a
"tyrant"? Do the people have a natural right to overthrow a tyrant?
Explain.
CHAPTER XIX
How can a society be
dissolved? How can a government be dissolved? What's the difference?
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