+ - 0:00:00
Notes for current slide
Notes for next slide

Social Contract Theory

ethics by agreement

photo

George Matthews

2020

1 / 19

The ties that bind

2 / 19

The ties that bind

  • Our social lives depend on our willingness to cooperate -- to sometimes set aside our own interests for the sake of others.
2 / 19

The ties that bind

  • Our social lives depend on our willingness to cooperate -- to sometimes set aside our own interests for the sake of others.

  • Trust is central to cooperation -- my willingness depends on your willingness and my trust that you will follow through.

2 / 19

The ties that bind

  • Our social lives depend on our willingness to cooperate -- to sometimes set aside our own interests for the sake of others.

  • Trust is central to cooperation -- my willingness depends on your willingness and my trust that you will follow through.


Our next question:

2 / 19

The ties that bind

  • Our social lives depend on our willingness to cooperate -- to sometimes set aside our own interests for the sake of others.

  • Trust is central to cooperation -- my willingness depends on your willingness and my trust that you will follow through.


Our next question:

Is there a rational basis for trust, or must trust be based on something besides reason, like feelings of sympathy, shared history, or emotional identification?

2 / 19

Traditional and modern societies

3 / 19

Traditional and modern societies

traditional

3 / 19

Traditional and modern societies

traditional

modern

3 / 19

Traditional and modern societies

traditional

Rooted in time, place, culture, established authority and inherited roles.

Conservative values emphasizing stability and hierarchy.

modern

4 / 19

Traditional and modern societies

traditional

Rooted in time, place, culture, established authority and inherited roles.

Conservative values emphasizing stability and hierarchy.

modern

Less bound by tradition and hierarchy, society is arena where individuals compete for status and power.

Liberal values emphasizing progress and individuality.

5 / 19

Traditional and modern societies

traditional

Rooted in time, place, culture, established authority and inherited roles.

Conservative values emphasizing stability and hierarchy.

modern

Less bound by tradition and hierarchy, society is arena where individuals compete for status and power.

Liberal values emphasizing progress and individuality.


Many societies are somewhere in between, with traditional and modern institutions, aspects and values.

5 / 19

Hobbes and the Social Contract


Thomas Hobbes
1588-1679
6 / 19

Hobbes and the Social Contract


Thomas Hobbes
1588-1679

Thomas Hobbes was the founder of modern political philosophy.

6 / 19

Hobbes and the Social Contract


Thomas Hobbes
1588-1679

Thomas Hobbes was the founder of modern political philosophy.

His 1651 book Leviathan asks:

6 / 19

Hobbes and the Social Contract


Thomas Hobbes
1588-1679

Thomas Hobbes was the founder of modern political philosophy.

His 1651 book Leviathan asks:

If there were no religion, no customs and no laws, how and why would individuals form a society and establish laws, and what would they look like?

6 / 19

Hobbes and the Social Contract


Thomas Hobbes
1588-1679

If there were no rules, and we lived in a "State of Nature," we would be free to do as we please, thus leading to a "war of all against all."

7 / 19

Hobbes and the Social Contract


Thomas Hobbes
1588-1679

If there were no rules, and we lived in a "State of Nature," we would be free to do as we please, thus leading to a "war of all against all."

"No arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear and danger of violent death; and the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

7 / 19

Hobbes and the Social Contract


Thomas Hobbes
1588-1679
  • Thus it makes sense that we would agree to establish rules limiting individual liberty in exchange for the security.
8 / 19

Hobbes and the Social Contract


Thomas Hobbes
1588-1679
  • Thus it makes sense that we would agree to establish rules limiting individual liberty in exchange for the security.
  • This is the Social Contract that creates moral and social rules and establishes society on the basis of reason.
8 / 19

Hobbes and the Social Contract


Thomas Hobbes
1588-1679
  • Thus it makes sense that we would agree to establish rules limiting individual liberty in exchange for the security.
  • This is the Social Contract that creates moral and social rules and establishes society on the basis of reason.
  • The same arguments apply to all moral rules -- they are invented by us to keep the peace in a world of self-interested, but also rational agents.
8 / 19

An argument for Social Contract Theory

9 / 19

An argument for Social Contract Theory

Morals by agreement

9 / 19

An argument for Social Contract Theory

Morals by agreement

A world in which there were no rules regulating our behavior would be unbearable.

Thus we all have an interest in establishing and abiding by basic rules against lying, stealing, murder, not keep promises, etc.

Thus we create and follow such rules.

9 / 19

An argument for Social Contract Theory

Morals by agreement

A world in which there were no rules regulating our behavior would be unbearable.

Thus we all have an interest in establishing and abiding by basic rules against lying, stealing, murder, not keep promises, etc.

Thus we create and follow such rules.


  • We may have an interest in establishing rules, but does this mean that we can do so on the terms set out so far?
9 / 19

Trust within reason?

10 / 19

Trust within reason?

  • Hobbes thinks we can't trust each other in the state of nature because we are all motivated by self-interest alone.
10 / 19

Trust within reason?

  • Hobbes thinks we can't trust each other in the state of nature because we are all motivated by self-interest alone.

  • So we setup rules to limit what counts as socially acceptable behavior -- the Social Contract.

10 / 19

Trust within reason?

  • Hobbes thinks we can't trust each other in the state of nature because we are all motivated by self-interest alone.

  • So we setup rules to limit what counts as socially acceptable behavior -- the Social Contract.

  • But if these rules are to be effective we need to also create an authority to enforce them.

10 / 19

Trust within reason?

  • Hobbes thinks we can't trust each other in the state of nature because we are all motivated by self-interest alone.

  • So we setup rules to limit what counts as socially acceptable behavior -- the Social Contract.

  • But if these rules are to be effective we need to also create an authority to enforce them.

  • Yet why should we trust the enforcers to follow the rules if they are self-interested people just like us?

10 / 19

Trust within reason?

  • Hobbes thinks we can't trust each other in the state of nature because we are all motivated by self-interest alone.

  • So we setup rules to limit what counts as socially acceptable behavior -- the Social Contract.

  • But if these rules are to be effective we need to also create an authority to enforce them.

  • Yet why should we trust the enforcers to follow the rules if they are self-interested people just like us?


Let's consider a famous illustration of the problem of trust.

10 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

11 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

You and your partner have been caught robbing a convenience store. The police have evidence that you are also responsible for a bank robbery but not enough to convict you. So they make each of you the following offer in separate rooms:

  • If you both stay silent about the bank job you each get 1 year in jail.

  • If confess to the bank job and your partner does not, you will go free and your partner will get 5 years in jail.

  • If you both confess you each get 3 years in jail.

11 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

You and your partner have been caught robbing a convenience store. The police have evidence that you are also responsible for a bank robbery but not enough to convict you. So they make each of you the following offer in separate rooms:

  • If you both stay silent about the bank job you each get 1 year in jail.

  • If confess to the bank job and your partner does not, you will go free and your partner will get 5 years in jail.

  • If you both confess you each get 3 years in jail.

  • What would you do, and what is the rational thing to do?
11 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

You and your partner have been caught robbing a convenience store. The police have evidence that you are also responsible for a bank robbery but not enough to convict you. So they make each of you the following offer in separate rooms:

  • If you both stay silent about the bank job you each get 1 year in jail.

  • If confess to the bank job and your partner does not, you will go free and your partner will get 5 years in jail.

  • If you both confess you each get 3 years in jail.

  • What would you do, and what is the rational thing to do?

Think about this for a moment before going on...

11 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

The rational solution

12 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

The rational solution

Since you cannot tell ahead of time whether your partner will confess or not, you should consider each possibility in turn.

  • If your partner confesses, you should confess, since 3 years in jail is better than the 5 you'd get if you stayed silent.

  • If your partner stays silent, you should confess, since going free is better than the 1 year in jail you'd get if you also stayed silent.

  • So whatever your partner does it is better for you to confess.

12 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

The rational solution

Since you cannot tell ahead of time whether your partner will confess or not, you should consider each possibility in turn.

  • If your partner confesses, you should confess, since 3 years in jail is better than the 5 you'd get if you stayed silent.

  • If your partner stays silent, you should confess, since going free is better than the 1 year in jail you'd get if you also stayed silent.

  • So whatever your partner does it is better for you to confess.

Too bad you couldn't both keep your mouths shut and get only 1 year in jail instead of 3!

12 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

13 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

  • Since both of you are rational, you will both end up in jail for 3 years.
13 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

  • Since both of you are rational, you will both end up in jail for 3 years.

  • It is the temptation of avoiding jail and the fear of being ratted out that makes the collectively optimal outcome of staying silent and getting 1 year in jail an inaccessible outcome.

13 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

  • Since both of you are rational, you will both end up in jail for 3 years.

  • It is the temptation of avoiding jail and the fear of being ratted out that makes the collectively optimal outcome of staying silent and getting 1 year in jail an inaccessible outcome.

  • If only you could trust your partner to stay silent, you could both have avoided the worse outcome of 3 years in jail.

13 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

  • Since both of you are rational, you will both end up in jail for 3 years.

  • It is the temptation of avoiding jail and the fear of being ratted out that makes the collectively optimal outcome of staying silent and getting 1 year in jail an inaccessible outcome.

  • If only you could trust your partner to stay silent, you could both have avoided the worse outcome of 3 years in jail.

  • But reason and self-interest dictate that we have to confess.

13 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

  • Since both of you are rational, you will both end up in jail for 3 years.

  • It is the temptation of avoiding jail and the fear of being ratted out that makes the collectively optimal outcome of staying silent and getting 1 year in jail an inaccessible outcome.

  • If only you could trust your partner to stay silent, you could both have avoided the worse outcome of 3 years in jail.

  • But reason and self-interest dictate that we have to confess.


Where in our real social lives do similar dilemmas appear?

13 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

14 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

The arms race: Nuclear weapons are really expensive and dangerous to have around, but can we trust the Russians not to build them? Nope! Too bad we can't spend that money on something that would have made our lives better!

14 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

The arms race: Nuclear weapons are really expensive and dangerous to have around, but can we trust the Russians not to build them? Nope! Too bad we can't spend that money on something that would have made our lives better!

The roommate's dilemma: It would be best for all of us to keep the place clean, but just this once I'll leave my dirty dishes for later. Why is this place always a dump?

14 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

The arms race: Nuclear weapons are really expensive and dangerous to have around, but can we trust the Russians not to build them? Nope! Too bad we can't spend that money on something that would have made our lives better!

The roommate's dilemma: It would be best for all of us to keep the place clean, but just this once I'll leave my dirty dishes for later. Why is this place always a dump?

The fisherman's dilemma: If we are to have sustainable livelihood and not deplete the fish stocks we all have to limit our catch. But it sure is tempting to over-fish now for the easy money while I still can and before the other fisherman hang me out to dry by themselves over-fishing.

14 / 19

The prisoner's dilemma

The arms race: Nuclear weapons are really expensive and dangerous to have around, but can we trust the Russians not to build them? Nope! Too bad we can't spend that money on something that would have made our lives better!

The roommate's dilemma: It would be best for all of us to keep the place clean, but just this once I'll leave my dirty dishes for later. Why is this place always a dump?

The fisherman's dilemma: If we are to have sustainable livelihood and not deplete the fish stocks we all have to limit our catch. But it sure is tempting to over-fish now for the easy money while I still can and before the other fisherman hang me out to dry by themselves over-fishing.


  • When you start to notice them, prisoner's dilemmas are all over the place, especially in their multi-person variants known as "free rider problems," like the last two above.
14 / 19

Morality to the rescue?

photo

15 / 19

Morality to the rescue?

photo

  • If we could trust our partner not to confess, and convince her to trust us too, we could avoid a long time in jail, avoid wasting money on nuclear weapons, or not destroy common resources.
15 / 19

Morality to the rescue?

photo

  • If we could trust our partner not to confess, and convince her to trust us too, we could avoid a long time in jail, avoid wasting money on nuclear weapons, or not destroy common resources.

  • Moral rules about keeping promises, loyalty and working together would help establish and maintain trust.

15 / 19

Morality to the rescue?

photo

  • If we could trust our partner not to confess, and convince her to trust us too, we could avoid a long time in jail, avoid wasting money on nuclear weapons, or not destroy common resources.

  • Moral rules about keeping promises, loyalty and working together would help establish and maintain trust.

  • But where do these come from and why are they so fragile?

15 / 19

Locke's Social Contract


John Locke
1632-1704
16 / 19

Locke's Social Contract


John Locke
1632-1704
  • John Locke suggested an answer to the problem of trust.
16 / 19

Locke's Social Contract


John Locke
1632-1704
  • John Locke suggested an answer to the problem of trust.
  • We are not, in his view, simply motivated by our own interests as Hobbes thought, but also by our concern for other people.
16 / 19

Locke's Social Contract


John Locke
1632-1704
  • John Locke suggested an answer to the problem of trust.
  • We are not, in his view, simply motivated by our own interests as Hobbes thought, but also by our concern for other people.
  • In addition, he thought that the terms of the social contract establishing political communities were subject to revision -- an idea that influenced Jefferson and other American Revolutionaries.
16 / 19

Locke's Social Contract


John Locke
1632-1704
  • John Locke suggested an answer to the problem of trust.
  • We are not, in his view, simply motivated by our own interests as Hobbes thought, but also by our concern for other people.
  • In addition, he thought that the terms of the social contract establishing political communities were subject to revision -- an idea that influenced Jefferson and other American Revolutionaries.
  • But this appeal to our "natural" sympathies won't convince anyone who doesn't already care.
16 / 19

Why should I care?

17 / 19

Why should I care?

  • SCT seems promising: it appeals only to our own ability to think and look out for ourselves as the basis of the rules governing social life.
17 / 19

Why should I care?

  • SCT seems promising: it appeals only to our own ability to think and look out for ourselves as the basis of the rules governing social life.

  • But saying that we need rules isn't enough, when it is also in our interests to cheat when we can get away with it.

17 / 19

Why should I care?

  • SCT seems promising: it appeals only to our own ability to think and look out for ourselves as the basis of the rules governing social life.

  • But saying that we need rules isn't enough, when it is also in our interests to cheat when we can get away with it.

  • Are we stuck with "might makes right?"

17 / 19

Why should I care?

  • SCT seems promising: it appeals only to our own ability to think and look out for ourselves as the basis of the rules governing social life.

  • But saying that we need rules isn't enough, when it is also in our interests to cheat when we can get away with it.

  • Are we stuck with "might makes right?"

photo

17 / 19

Find out more

Hobbes and Contractarianism: another in the great Crash Course series.

Social Contract Theory: this article at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy also covers the ancient history and more current versions of the theory.

What's in it for me?, Ya-Yun (Sherry) Kao, in Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics. This chapter covers Social Contract Theory as well as Egoism.

18 / 19

photo

Credits

Built with:

Rstudio

xarignan html presentation framework

Photos by:

Gimp-workshop, Mabel Amber and StockSnap at Pixabay

editorial suggestions and comments: requires a (free) GitHub account.

19 / 19

The ties that bind

2 / 19
Paused

Help

Keyboard shortcuts

↑, ←, Pg Up, k Go to previous slide
↓, →, Pg Dn, Space, j Go to next slide
Home Go to first slide
End Go to last slide
Number + Return Go to specific slide
b / m / f Toggle blackout / mirrored / fullscreen mode
c Clone slideshow
p Toggle presenter mode
t Restart the presentation timer
?, h Toggle this help
Esc Back to slideshow