The Social Contract

Examination of the social contract in political thought, focusing on Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, as well as their sources of inspiration, emulators, and critics, in order to understand this influential approach to the question of political obligation. Consideration of arguments regarding the source of political authority, the origins, nature, and limits of the state, the concepts of sovereignty and the state of nature, as well as the relationship between individual and collective rights.