Key Concepts in Moral and Political Philosophy

David Hume: The Principle of Humanity

Theme: Human beings have feelings because we share a common moral universal principle of humanity that makes agreement and harmony possible.

Core Ideas

• 1. When a man expresses his feelings that arise from particular circumstances of egoism, he uses language.
• 2. When a man expresses sentiments common to him and others:
  • 2.1. To call someone "hateful" considers them odious to the whole of society.
  • 2.2. Expressing qualities harmful to society affects the principle of humanity that all human beings share.

Relationship: Points 1 and 2 show a contrast: expressing individual feelings versus those shared by others. Point 1 is complementary to point 2. The main thesis is idea number 2.

William of Ockham: Rights and Papal Power

1. The Pope's power does not exempt the legitimate rights of emperors, kings, and all those who observe the Gospel law.
2. The legitimate rights of emperors and kings existed before the evangelical law.
3. If the Pope pursues those rights, his sentence would be void.

Baruch Spinoza: Democracy and Freedom

1. Freedom of thought and expression lets the state maintain authority and avoid revolutions.
2. In a democracy, majority voting gives legitimacy to make or change common laws for all, but it does not require the same for all opinions.
3. The natural form of government is democracy.
4. A lack of freedom of expression necessitates violence in government because we are moved away from nature.

Niccolò Machiavelli: Utilitarian Realism

1. Utilitarian reality requires practical action, not ideal representations.
2. Utopian ideals and the need to always abide by the "good" can lead us to ruin.
3. To maintain power, the Prince must be guided to know how to do good and, sometimes, how not to.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Freedom and Equality

1. The purpose of the state should be the greatest good: freedom and equality.
2. The state needs freedom, and freedom needs equality.
3. Civil liberty and equality should be reconsidered: civil liberty requires that power is exercised by rank and the law.
4. Equality must avoid having someone so rich they can purchase another, and another so poor they must sell themselves.

Plato: The Two Worlds and the Idea of Good

1. In the sensible world, there are physical objects we perceive through the senses, similar to sunlight.
2. In the intelligible world, there are ideas accessed through reason. The ultimate idea is the Good, which produces truth and knowledge.
3. Knowing the idea of the Good has two dimensions: theoretical and practical. It makes us morally better and enables us to govern justly.

Augustine of Hippo: The Just Society

1. A society is just if its citizens are law-abiding followers of God, ensuring they live as authentic Christians who fulfill the commandments of love for God and neighbor as oneself.
2. If this is not the kind of society, then there is no "people" and, consequently, no politics.

Aristotle: Man as a Social Animal

1. Nature does nothing in vain.
2. Only humans have the gift of language.
3. While animals can express feelings of pain and pleasure, language allows humans to reflect and decide on the just and the unjust.
4. If nature does nothing in vain, we can say that man is social by nature.