Political Philosophy Lecture Flashcards: Hobbes, Harrington, Locke, Proast, and Hume

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering core terms, theoretical mechanisms, analogies, and textual examples from lectures on Hobbes, Harrington, Locke, Proast, and Hume.

Relativity of Good and Evil (Hobbes)

Hobbes's claim that "good" and "evil" are relative to the individual judging them based on their personal desires and aversions, meaning no universal standard of good or evil exists in objects themselves.

Happiness / Felicity (Hobbes)

The continual progress of desire from one object to another and continual success in obtaining desired things, rather than a final state of perfect satisfaction.

Rough Equality in Natural Abilities (Hobbes)

The condition in which no person is powerful enough to be completely safe, as even the physically weaker can defeat the stronger through planning, cooperation, or surprise.

Competition (Hobbes)

The first principal cause of quarrel identified by Hobbes, where people attack others for material gain and resources.

Diffidence (Hobbes)

The second principal cause of quarrel identified by Hobbes, referring to distrust or fear that prompts preemptive attacks for safety.

Glory (Hobbes)

The third principal cause of quarrel identified by Hobbes, where individuals fight over reputation, status, respect, or insults.

State of Nature (Hobbes)

A condition lacking a common political authority to enforce rules, leading to a war of every man against every man where life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

Right of Nature (jus naturale)

The liberty each person has to use their own power as they see fit for the preservation of their own life.

Law of Nature (Hobbes)

A general rule discovered through reason that instructs a person on what to do or avoid in order to preserve their life and pursue peace.

First Law of Nature (Hobbes)

To seek peace when peace is possible, and to defend oneself by all means necessary when peace cannot be obtained.

Second Law of Nature (Hobbes)

The willingness, when others are also willing, to surrender unlimited freedom to achieve peace and security through covenants.

Third Law of Nature (Hobbes)

The obligation that people perform the covenants they make, which serves as the foundation of justice.

Authorization (Hobbes)

The process by which a multitude agrees to recognize the actions of a common representative as representing their collective will, unifying them into one political body.

Commonwealth by Institution

A political body created when individuals voluntarily agree with one another to authorize a sovereign person or assembly.

Commonwealth by Acquisition

A political body established through force or conquest, where subjects submit to the ruler out of fear of death or destruction.

David and Uriah Example (Hobbes)

An illustration showing that a sovereign (David) may harm or kill a subject (Uriah) without committing contractual injustice, because the sovereign is not bound by the original covenant made among subjects.

Liberty of Subjects (Hobbes)

The freedom of a subject consisting of the absence of external impediments to action in areas where the law has not restricted them.

"Kingdom of Fairies, in the Dark"

Hobbes's metaphor criticizing political systems where people obey unseen, religious, or supernatural claims of authority that compete with the sovereign.

Authority (Harrington)

The political principle of reason concerning who ought to govern or holds the legitimate right to make political decisions.

Power (Harrington)

The political principle of interest and force, grounded primarily in the ownership of material resources and landed property.

"Empire of Laws, and Not of Men"

Harrington's ideal republic in which constitutional arrangements and institutional rules govern political action rather than arbitrary personal wills.

Dividing and Choosing (Harrington)

An institutional mechanism where one group divides power or options and another chooses, structuring self-interest to achieve a fair outcome.

Agrarian Law (Harrington)

Legislation placing limits on land ownership to prevent extreme concentration of economic power from destroying political equality in a republic.

Liberty vs. License (Locke)

Locke's distinction between freedom bound by the law of nature (liberty) and unlimited permission to arbitrarily harm others or oneself (license).

Right to Punish (Locke)

The natural right held by everyone in the state of nature to execute the law of nature proportionately to restrain future violations.

Right to Seek Reparation (Locke)

The natural right belonging specifically to an injured party to seek compensation for damage caused by a transgressor.

State of Nature vs. State of War (Locke)

Locke's distinction between living without a common political authority (state of nature) and the deliberate use or threat of unjust force against another (state of war).

"Enough and As Good" Condition

Locke's limitation stating that a person can appropriate private property through labor only if enough and as good resources remain for others.

Spoilage Limitation

Locke's restriction on property acquisition prohibiting someone from taking more natural resources than they can use before they rot.

Pole Cats, Foxes, and Lions (Locke)

Locke's analogy arguing that entering absolute monarchy to escape natural inconveniences is like avoiding harm from polecats and foxes only to be eaten by a lion.

Tacit Consent (Locke)

Consent implied when a person enjoys property or benefits within a government's territory, binding them to obey its laws while present without making them a permanent member.

Express Consent (Locke)

An explicit, voluntary agreement by which an individual permanently joins a political community as a full member.

Algiers Ship Example (Locke)

An analogy demonstrating that immediate unjust force creates an immediate right of self-defense and resistance without waiting for ultimate destruction.

Appeal to Heaven (Locke)

The invocation of force and divine judgment when tyranny destroys earthly legal remedies, leaving injured citizens no impartial judge on earth.

Indirect Coercion Argument (Proast)

Proast's argument that state coercion can legitimately lead to genuine religious belief indirectly by compelling individuals to listen to arguments, read texts, and consider religious truth.

Ottoman Sultan Example (Locke)

Locke's argument that if political authority naturally included religious jurisdiction, the Muslim sultan would legitimately dictate Christian doctrine, an idea Christians reject.

"Lords of the Earth" Argument (Locke)

Locke's point that because world rulers hold conflicting religious beliefs, giving state rulers authority over religion makes individual salvation depend arbitrarily on place of birth.

Hume's Ship Analogy

Hume's critique of tacit consent comparing a citizen living in a country to a passenger on a ship in open sea, arguing that staying is not voluntary due to lack of practical alternatives.

Natural Duties (Hume)

Moral duties stemming from basic human impulses and feelings, such as compassion, benevolence, and parental love, which exist independently of social conventions.

Duties from Convention/Obligation (Hume)

Moral obligations like justice, property rights, promise-keeping, and political obedience that arise from social utility and human conventions.

Social Utility (Hume)

The primary foundation for political obligation and government authority according to Hume, based on the necessity of state institutions for maintaining social order and cooperation.