POLS 250 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Cardinal Virtues, Eudaimonia, Rationality

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Political Studies
• Course: POLS 250
• Professor: Colin Farrelly

Document Summary

Distinction between hedonistic pleasure (excess of what you like) and eudonistic. A central theme of the course: the social contract: appeal: agreement = legitimacy, making sense of political obligation is not a problem, different contractarians use the device in different ways to justify different political regimes . Two kinds of contract theories: interest based contract theories. Agreement is premised on non-moral premises (i. e. self-interest) [not individual rights] Hobbes is the main proponent of this theory. Lived during reformation, great political instability, questions about religion ect. Hobbs defends the right of an absolute monarchy: right based contract theories. Agreement is based on an assumption of prior individual right [moral premise]. Born early due to the arrival of the spanish armada (fear of violence of war). Emphasises that he was born into the feeling of fear towards war. Englih civil war 1629 10 march charles dissolves parliament and begins 11 years of personal rule. conflict between parliament and royalists.