Year 8 - Religious education
The state of nature and social contracts
Religion and politics in the Enlightenment: How were they aligned?
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit there is a choice. Through a social science lens, pupils consider how psychologists analyse the phenomenon of religion. Or they may study the flowering of philosophy at the time of the Enlightenment through a depth study of Hobbes and Rousseau and their ideas of religion and society.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to explain Thomas Hobbes' ideas about the state of nature, the social contract and the role of a sovereign.
Key Notes
- Hobbes explains the state of nature and the social contract in his work 'Leviathan'.
- The state of nature according to Hobbes is everybody living for themselves.
- He believed that when people have unlimited freedom, it leads to chaos and a war-like scenario.
- Hobbes argues that social contracts limit our freedom but provide benefits such as security.
- Social contracts need to be enacted by a sovereign or ruler and work to bring the state of nature to an end.
Vocabulary To Learn
- authority: the power to give orders, make decisions and enforce obedience
- freedom: the natural liberty to act as one wishes
- sovereign: a supreme ruler
- the state of nature: a concept that imagines life without society or government, with different philosophers seeing it as either peaceful or chaotic
- thought experiment: a philosophical tool to test ideas in hypothetical contexts, not real-world scenarios
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Hobbes believed freedom is bad.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Hobbes explains the state of nature and the social contract in his work 'Leviathan'. The state of nature according to Hobbes is everybody living for themselves.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'authority'
the power to give orders, make decisions and enforce obedience.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: Hobbes believed freedom is bad. Correction: Hobbes did not oppose all freedom, but argued that unlimited freedom in the state of nature leads to chaos.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Analysing 'The Social Contract' by Rousseau Study Guide
- Interaction between religious, philosophical and political belief Study Guide
- Renaissance and Enlightenment: religion and thought Study Guide
- The philosophy and beliefs of Jean-Jacques Rousseau Study Guide
- The philosophy and beliefs of Thomas Hobbes Study Guide
Browse all guides in the Year 8 Religious education guide library.