Empirical Or Rational

The origin of government is an important problem in political philosophy and legal philosophy, many west thinkers and west theories in the history have made many classics discusses for this problem. Grotius, Hobbes, Pufendorf, Locke and other thinkers have made the discuss for the origin of government by the social contract theory.This kind of theory is one of the influential theory about the problem.Adam. Smith have made an insightful analysis for the origin of government,too. These discusses are mainly embodied in his lectures between 1751-1764 at the University of Glasgow when he was the professor of moral philosophy.These lectures included the political problem and legal problem.The book contained these lectures not be published in during his lifetime, but two students of these lectures made the record notes,so these lectures were preserved.From these notes, we can find that Adam. Smith have discussed the origin of government problem and have made a critical commenton on social contract theory and the origin of government of Locke et alIn Adam. Smith mind, social contract theory and the origin of government of Locke et al were logically and historically, had a lot of flaws. From the analysis, Grotius, Hobbes, Pufendorf, Locke discuss this kind of theory in a priori, abstract way, this kind of rationality and rationalism are based on natural law.Adam. Smith believed that the first principle the government established is the authority principle.The government is not a priori constructive, but the result of natural evolution inwhich person or organization with authority configurated. The underlying psychological principle of authority is based on the notion that everyone have sympathy motion. The second principle the government established is the utilitarian principle.This is the reason why the government will have and get the people to obey. There is a real need for people to bring practical benefits, the principle of pragmatic justification of Adam. Smith is based on the logic of self-interest ,this is the basic human motivations to the hypothesis. Adam. Smith believed that in reality these two principles are not fragmented , but interconnected each other. In this view, Adam. Smith's self-consistent system of thought is integrity.The background of the critical comment of Adam Smith on social contract theory and the origin of government of Locke et al is the Enlightenment.Adam. Smith is the master minds of the Scottish Enlightenment school , Adam. His critical comment of Adam Smith on social contract theory and the origin of government of Locke et al has been on the same bases of the master of the Scottish Enlightenment ,such as Francis. Hutcheson ,David. Hume.Hume's discuss of critical comment on social contract theory and the origin of government of Locke influence Adam. Smith much. The value of critical comment of Adam Smith on social contract theory and the origin of government of Locke et al demostrates in the following aspects: First, the political advance of the times; second, making the most of the advantages of the essence of traditional empiricism of British Philosophy; Finally, this theory revealing the historical dimension of evolution-oriented view ,and in the political practice of political reality ,it fits the reality more properly.The defects of critical comment of Adam Smith on social contract theory and the origin of government of Locke et al demostrates in the following aspects:First of all, the originality of this theory is inadequate, the specific methods and logic by which Adam. Smith ues in his theory on this issue like Hume's main theory on this problem very much; Secondly, the critical comment of Adam Smith on social contract theory and the origin of government of Locke et al is not entirely self-consistent, the process of justification also slightly less convincing. Finally, in the specific process of justification, as Adam. Smith demonstrates the acceptance of human emotions based on the psychological mechanisms, this theory is not very logical.In a word, the critical comment of Adam Smith on social contract theory and the origin of government of Locke et al has inherited the traces of the theory of Hume's, but its emphasis on the government to mobilize, organization, use of various resources capacity and the government to seek practical benefits for people harmonious is better than Hume's theory. the critical comment of Adam Smith on social contract theory and the origin of government of Locke et al is not totally rejected contract theory in political philosophy and legal philosophy , but to deal with the contract theory as a discard, hich retained the contract theory of political Philosophy and Legal Philosophy in that the government should guarantee people's freedom, happiness, rights, but denied the Government established in empty and the mystery dimensions. With practical considerations, Adam Smith's theory has the characteristics of more advanced and more powerful explanatory force. So the critical comment of Adam Smith on social contract theory and the origin of government of Locke et al is the classic argument demonstrated in the West thought history.