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    Social contract theories presuppose a source of moral nor... — Carmelics
    Home/Social Contract
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    Social contract theories presuppose a source of moral norms prior to the contract itself

    Social Contract
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    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Social contract theories require rules to guide the formation of agreement
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    • 2.Such rules must be prior to the contract in order to govern its formation
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    • 3.Norms that are prior to the contract must originate from some pre-contractual source, whether natural, rational, or conventional
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    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Contractarian procedure can itself constitute moral norms rather than presuppose them, as Scanlon's contractualism demonstrates.
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    • 2.The agreement-process generates its own validity conditions through reflective equilibrium, not prior moral facts.
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    • 3.Gauthier's 'morals by agreement' shows rational bargaining can be self-grounding without importing pre-contractual moral premises.
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    Reason against 2 of 2
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    • 1.Hobbes's sovereign-creation model treats the pre-contractual state as morally empty, making norms artifacts of convention alone.
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    • 2.The logical priority of procedural rules over substantive norms does not entail a moral source, only a formal constraint on rational coordination.
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    Topics

    Social Contract

    Connections

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    Truth & Knowledge1 linked

    Related

    Contractarian procedure can itself constitute moral norms rather than presuppose...Gauthier's 'morals by agreement' shows rational bargaining can be self-grounding...Hobbes's sovereign-creation model treats the pre-contractual state as morally em...Norms that are prior to the contract must originate from some pre-contractual so...
    +4 moreShow less
    Social contract theories require rules to guide the formation of agreementSuch rules must be prior to the contract in order to govern its formationThe agreement-process generates its own validity conditions through reflective e...The logical priority of procedural rules over substantive norms does not entail ...

    Similar

    Social contract theories require rules to guide the formation of agree...83%Social contract theory cannot explain moral obligation without circula...81%Appeal to others' concerns is built into both the Lockean Proviso and ...80%Contractarian theories require that parties to the contract be able to...79%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: contractarianism
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    Social contract theories also require some rules to guide the formation of agreement. Since they are prior to the contract, there must be some source of prior moral norms, whether natural, rational, or conventional. The first rule that is normally prescribed is that there must be no force or fraud in the making of the agreement. No one is to be “coerced” into agreement by the threat of physical violence. The reasoning for this is quite straightforwardly prudential: if one is allowed to use viole
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit