Watch this clip (which you'll have to go to Youtube to see) with 'ethical egoism' and the 'social Contract' theory in mind!
Download The powerpoint very briefly providing an overview of Thomas Hobbes' theory of the Social Contract
This is currently offline (as of sept 2012) due to it's size ask Mr Jackson to email it to you if you need it!
Download Thomas Hobbes contract work booklet
Download The prisoners dilemma
We will have a go at this in class, but feel free to play it over the dinner table with your folks! This whole idea seems to suggest that we will act 'altruistically without the need for a social contract.
The worksheet then goes on to explore other ways that show humans can act altruistically. Most notably what is known as 'biological altruism'.
Finally there are a couple of pages that develop some criticisms of Hobbes' theory.
Download Can we articulate our self interest independently of morality?
This basically returns us back to the discussion of ethical egoism. You need to read the section in the 'big blue book' on page 20 /21 to help you break down the argument against egoism.
Morality as a social contract - Lacewings discussion is here.