Locke's The Second Treatise Of Civil Government: The Significance Of Reason

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

as long as one does not disturb others in their state of nature; in this
�state of perfect equality ... there is no superiority or jurisdiction of one
over another� (124). Men, thereby, have the power to �preserve the innocent and
restrain offenders� (124) and punish those who transgress against them and
disturb their �state of nature.� Thus, all men are their own �executioner[s] in
the law of nature,� or the Law of Reason.
While all men are in charge of their own will according to the Law of
Reason in which they are born, some men do, in fact, break or reject this law,
which causes them to enter into a state of war with the others. People reject
the law of nature for many reasons, especially when their ideas and opinions
differ. When people reject the law, two things can happen; the first is that
one could enter into a state of war with someone else, and the other is that one
could choose to enter into a state of society. It is reason that ultimately
leads a person ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

have
to give up their �rights� to reason by entering into the social contract.
Reason still exists where conformity flourishes. It doesn't diminish but is
actually enhanced by the merging of natural law (fundamental law) and positive
law (the law of the majority of others).
John Locke believed that conformity is what enhances society. His ideal
was for everyone to be fully integrated into the social contract. In order to
accomplish that, Locke stressed that parents need to teach their children how to
labor early on. Children must learn abstract reasoning as soon as possible so
they can leave the state of nature and enter into society.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, on the other ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: