Locke / Locke - Tutorial Preparation Sheet

L ecture 8 – Locke

1. Background questions:

1. What is Natural Law? Where does it come from?

(Have you seen something like this before?).

2. One of the rights that Locke says that we have is the right to property. How does he think that one can acquire property?

3. How can we come to own something that is not already owned? (This is the idea of Original Acquisition.)

4. What are the limits on Original Acquisition and how are those limits justified?

5. What are the limits on the power of the State and where do these limits come from?

2. Tutorial discussion questions:

6. How did Locke’s view of the ‘State of Nature’ differ from Hobbes’ view? Why was there this difference?

7. Give examples of what Locke would consider to be Natural rights. How would Locke justify a claim that they were Natural Rights?

8. In the lecture we talked about Positive and Negative Rights: explain the difference and give examples of your own (not from the lecture) of each.

9. Compare Locke’s and Hobbe’s views of how we can get out of the State of Nature? Which do you agree with?

10. Give an example of when a revolution might be allowed.