Final answer:
John Locke believed the motivation to good moral behaviour is rooted in natural rights, rationality, and respect for others within a social contract, whereby governments must protect these rights, and the people can form a new government if the contract is not honored.
Step-by-step explanation:
John Locke's Motivation for Moral Behaviour
The English philosopher John Locke believed that humans are born good with inherent rights such as life, liberty, and property. In his view, the motivation for good moral behaviour stems from our natural state which prizes individual freedoms and equality. For Locke, individuals are motivated by rationality, granted by God, which allows them to determine and follow moral laws. These laws, rooted in natural rights and justice, are expressed in his theory of the social contract and the role of a legitimate government. The government's primary role, according to Locke, is to protect these natural rights, and if it fails in this duty, the people have the right to withdraw their consent and establish a new government that will honor the social contract.
Locke's philosophy underscores the inherent dignity and moral responsibility of individuals in the structure of society. He posits that moral law precedes political structures and that the motivation for morality lies within the individual's natural rights and respect for others. By establishing a social contract, individuals bind themselves to acting according to these natural laws which sustain peace and security, and it is this collective agreement that also motivates good moral behaviour.