Discussion

The purpose of this assignment is to reflect upon the role of the state. In a 2–3-page paper, address

the following:

Explain a political philosophy with supporting citations to the textbook and online lectures in correct

APA format. For example, you might discuss social contract theory or feminism. Use this APA Citation

Helper as a convenient reference for properly citing resources.
Explain some human rights that you think should be protected by the government. Discuss whether the

particular rights you discuss are better understood as “positive” or “negative” rights.
Explain how the ideas associated with the theory you explained might be related to the rights you

identified. For example, if your essay primarily focuses on negative rights, you might discuss natural

law and the social contract. If you included positive rights, one of the critiques of natural law might

be relevant.
Discussions of political beliefs can often generate a great deal of emotion. Your participation grade

for all discussion assignments is based in part on your ability to respond to your peers in a

respectful and mature fashion, and this assignment is no exception. You are encouraged to present the

arguments in favor of your own views and to challenge the arguments made by your peers (in fact, the

critical thinking method we discussed last week is an excellent guide for how to present an argument

about the role of the government), but please do not engage in personal attacks or other inappropriate

communication.

Use Roots of Wisdom: A Tapestry of Philosophies 7e Chapters 8&9