constituitions

Aristotle, the philosopher as Aquinas calls him, believed that there is nothing more necessary and natural than a society. He pioneered the idea that ‘man’, as he called a human being, is the only animal endowed with reason and that this reason makes them to behave in a rational way. He says, “All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion and desire.” It is due to the same causes above and especially due to reason that we all come together and form fundamental laws and regulations to govern ourselves. It is reason that tells us that wherever we are and in whatever we do, we must hang together, it is reason that tell us that in our long journey of life, we must walk together, it is the same reason that advices us that as reflective beings, we must Endeavour to establish structures that will work for us without fears of creating unnecessary classes within.

Hobbes on His part sees society as a necessary though an artificial structure. His construct of the ‘state of nature’ brings to light how our desires and passions as human being throw us into war against each other, how our insatiable desire for more and more leaves us broken and disgraced and how our endeavors to survive ignite tension and unnecessary anarchy. Man (human being) has a very simple formula to save himself, with reason they are so much endowed with, form laws and cede there rights to a leviathan. Indeed, Hobbes mental construct seems more real than Aristotle’s natural state. Looking around us, and going back into history, man seems to be fighting against a fellow man and the limited resources seems to be the even more reason for such fights. Economics tell us that there are indeed limited resources and nature has showed us that man is in a constant rash for such resources. As a result, wars have been allover, and laws have been formed as a result.


Rousseau on his part disregards society in all its forms. That man is born free is not a secret to him. However, he claims that society holds man with chains that can never be broken. He says, “Man is born free but everywhere in chains.” He seems to differ with Hobbes on the state of nature by indeed claiming that such a state was the most blissful, most peaceful and most resourceful humans ever had. He is however quick to point out that although the state of nature was the most ideal, it is impossible to go back into time and as a result, we need to sit and formulate laws to govern us.

Such are the case of rationality
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