Introduction to Philosophy/The Social Contract

An idea of a social contract draws from teleological thinking as opposed to a modern naturalistic view of sociocultural evolution. A social contract is a hypothetical agreement between primitive, "unsocialized" people, who decided to form a society in order to avoid wars and violence, by instead creating specific rules - laws - that would organize the group life. A notable founder of the social contract model, Thomas Hobbes, presents a totally rationalistic view on human nature, which is a main point of contemporary critique.