ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an introduction to group and individual reasons, followed by a thought experiment. It is followed by a short discussion and then a series of questions. Hobbes thinks that a social contract is the a way of ensuring that people in society are better off. He thinks this is the best way out of a dilemma concerning how to coordinate action. The thought experiment presents a case of a person who is the mayor of a city Hobbesville. Over the valley there is another city Platoville. He is trying to decide whether to go to war with Platoville. The questions are intended to get the philosophy students thinking about the problems. They have used these kinds of questions in seminars as the questions set for seminars. The chapter also gives a cursory sketch of some of the ways in which philosophers have responded to the thought experiment.
