Are citizens morally obligated to obey and support their states？ ＂Political Obligations and Authority＂ is perhaps A. John Simmons＇ most comprehensive summary of his mature views on this enduring philosophical prob...Are citizens morally obligated to obey and support their states？ ＂Political Obligations and Authority＂ is perhaps A. John Simmons＇ most comprehensive summary of his mature views on this enduring philosophical problem. In this essay, Simmons critically engages Plato＇s dialogue Crito and culls from it three types of strategies for justifying political obligations： natural duty, associative, and transactional. Simmons argues that natural duty accounts are inherently incapable of providing moral grounding for political obligations, disqualifies both associative and transactional accounts on empirical grounds, and settles for a form of anarchism. I argue, assuming as Simmons does in this essay that natural duties imply obligations of support and obedience to political institutions, that the natural duty strategy promises to provide an escape route out of anarchism.展开更多
The principal thesis of this paper is that one must grasp the importance, or even the centrality, of Hobbes＇s idea of commonwealth by institution in Leviathan in order to fully understand and appreciate his arguments...The principal thesis of this paper is that one must grasp the importance, or even the centrality, of Hobbes＇s idea of commonwealth by institution in Leviathan in order to fully understand and appreciate his arguments concerning the political obligation of obedience. Until recently, this idea has not been given its due significance in the literature. It has been commonly held that Hobbes＇s theorizing about the foundation of the state was based upon his concept of covenant. This paper argues that crucial aspects of political obligation generated by Hobbes＇s concept of covenant could not be understood without a clear understanding of the relationship among the three elements embodied in his idea of commonwealth by institution-covenant, authorization and right-transfer. While several attempts have been made on this topic, the pictures that have been drawn by Hobbesian scholars are more or less inadequate. In particular, the significant roles which authorization and right-transfer play in Hobbes＇s account of political obligation have yet been made clear. By shifting focus upon the idea of commonwealth by institution and taking it as Hobbes＇s mechanism of explaining the nature and origins of political obligation of obedience, this paper examines in detail the specific questions which Hobbes was addressing by coining this term and elicits what exactly he may have meant to convey to his audiences.展开更多
文摘Are citizens morally obligated to obey and support their states？ ＂Political Obligations and Authority＂ is perhaps A. John Simmons＇ most comprehensive summary of his mature views on this enduring philosophical problem. In this essay, Simmons critically engages Plato＇s dialogue Crito and culls from it three types of strategies for justifying political obligations： natural duty, associative, and transactional. Simmons argues that natural duty accounts are inherently incapable of providing moral grounding for political obligations, disqualifies both associative and transactional accounts on empirical grounds, and settles for a form of anarchism. I argue, assuming as Simmons does in this essay that natural duties imply obligations of support and obedience to political institutions, that the natural duty strategy promises to provide an escape route out of anarchism.
文摘The principal thesis of this paper is that one must grasp the importance, or even the centrality, of Hobbes＇s idea of commonwealth by institution in Leviathan in order to fully understand and appreciate his arguments concerning the political obligation of obedience. Until recently, this idea has not been given its due significance in the literature. It has been commonly held that Hobbes＇s theorizing about the foundation of the state was based upon his concept of covenant. This paper argues that crucial aspects of political obligation generated by Hobbes＇s concept of covenant could not be understood without a clear understanding of the relationship among the three elements embodied in his idea of commonwealth by institution-covenant, authorization and right-transfer. While several attempts have been made on this topic, the pictures that have been drawn by Hobbesian scholars are more or less inadequate. In particular, the significant roles which authorization and right-transfer play in Hobbes＇s account of political obligation have yet been made clear. By shifting focus upon the idea of commonwealth by institution and taking it as Hobbes＇s mechanism of explaining the nature and origins of political obligation of obedience, this paper examines in detail the specific questions which Hobbes was addressing by coining this term and elicits what exactly he may have meant to convey to his audiences.
