An evaluation of the claim that Rousseau's Social Contract sacrifices Essay

An evaluation of the claim that Rousseau's Social Contract sacrifices the individual to the collective - Essay Example The will of the public is represented though democratic procedures in society. While most interest converge to reflect the overarching consensus within society, there are bound to be some marginalized opinions. This means that society has to develop a means of arbitrating between what is right and wrong. Rousseau developed a simple calculus for making this decision. He uses the general will to evaluate whether the upholding the individuals rights is good for society as a collective entity. In this paper after providing background information on the nature of humanity, I describe the social contract and the role of government. Next, we explore the philosophical framework that surrounds the rights that individuals have in society. Before concluding, I discuss the General Will and determine whether its meant to sacrifice the individual for the collective. II. Background Rousseau exclaimed that the state of nature existed without the rule of law or a system of morality. In this state hum ans banned together for the benefits and necessity of cooperation. As society became increasingly developed, the perpetual division of labor and the extension of private property demanded the totality of the human race to adopt governing institutions of law. This structure of society forces individuals to be increasingly interdependent whereby on one hand, they continue competition while on the other hand, they require each other. Rousseau theorized that by joining together into a civil society through the social contract surrendering their natural rights, individuals can both preserve themselves and remain free. Specifically, because the submission to the authority of the general will guarantees individuals protection against being subordinated to the wills of others and ensures that they obey the collective because they are, holistically, the authors of the law. This is where the general will becomes and important aspect of Rousseau’s Theory of the social contract. But all of this analysis started from an initial concept of human nature as naturally selfish. Lets discuss the psychological and sociological structure of society. If Humans are psychologically different, then it is easier to justify differential treatment of others. But if we are psychological alike, then one will find much more difficulty vindicating such claims. Hence my task with the analysis I provide you here, will be to prove that humans are psychologically alike as well as provide a clear definition for our psychological existence. Traditional conceptions of the psychological definition of humanity came from two different schools of thought. Either humans are naturally good, or they are naturally bad. I would argue that neither is correct and that humans are a blank slate, but let’s tackle the traditional conceptions first. First, Humans are naturally good. This belief is most notably held by the famous philosophical thinker Jean Jacques Rousseau. In The Inequality among Men â€Å"So many authors have hastily concluded that man is naturally cruel, and requires a regular system of police to be reclaimed; whereas nothing can be more gentle than he in his primitive state, when placed by nature at an equal distance from the stupidity of brutes, and the pernicious good sense of civilized man; and equally confined by instinct and reason to the care of providing against the mischief which threatens him, he is withheld by natural compassion from doing any injury to others, so far from

English Contract Law situational question Essay

English Contract Law situational question - Essay Example Lastly, this paper will establish whether is a liability on the part of A.com owed to University of Warwick on promissory estoppels. According to the agreement the contract was to be performed by 1 September, 2013. However, A.com created a software that served only five functions but could not manage to create task V. Through the concept promissory estoppels a non-contractual promise that lacks consideration can be rendered executable to prevent an injustice2. The University made an ultimatum of four weeks for the remaining task to be accomplished failure to which the contract would be terminated but A.com wanted more time. A.com had a duty to make sure that the software was complete in four weeks through the non-contractual promise made by the institution that the contract will be terminated if the software is not delivered. Therefore, the University has a right to claim to claim for expense wastage in hiring A.com to develop the software because the company spent 1.5 Million pounds to buy an alternative software after the system that was created backfired. This decision can be similar to the case in CCC Films ( London) Ltd v Impact Quadrant Films Ltd3 the judge allowed the petitioner to abandon its petition for loss of profits at the last phase of the trial and to replace the petition for a claim for expenditure wasted. The interpretation of the judge was that the case as allowing the defendant to provide proof, the burden rested on the case. It was reasoned that part of the expenses would have been consumed in any occurrence since the bargain was often going to be a loss event. The loss in this case was the cost incurred by the University to buy the alternate software and the cost incurred in the compensation of the students for exposure of their confidential information. Besides in this scenario, A.com has a burden to prove that their contract was terminated prematurely and hence amounted to wrongful termination. In spite of