There are many competing notions regarding what it means to be human. As humans, we strive to get the most of this life, thus to live “the good life”. The question arises, what type of life brings us the greatest meaning? Many philosophers and thinkers have tried to answer this, and have composed strikingly different conceptions. Some of the most notable thinkers are Friedrich Nietzsche and Thomas Hobbes. Both try to provide the most accurate representation of the human being. Through understanding the human person, we are able to formulate a description of the good life. Friedrich Nietzsche defines us as a human being through the state of becoming, that in our nature we are an unfinished product. Who we are is in the making, and we are
…show more content…
We were always in war with each other, because it is our nature. He gives a good example of this by saying, “And therefore if any two men desire the same thing, which nevertheless they cannot both enjoy, they become enemies; and in the way to their end endeavor to destroy or subdue one another” (from Leviathan). We created a constant state of war with each other when we cannot agree on things, or share. Our mode of dealing with dispute is violence. So we live in fear of a “violent death” because in our lives there is violence all around us. We hope that our death can be peaceful, and that we don’t end our lives in a violent manner. Hobbes believes all to be equal. He states so, because even the weakest man can kill the strongest man. At the core, we all possess the same physical capabilities, so if someone that is weak can kill someone that is rich, we are equal. There is a distrust among people because, “So that in he nature of man, we find three principal causes of quarrel. First, competition; secondly, diffidence; thirdly glory” from Leviathan. Since war is so common, we find distrust among people. Because if we are always fighting each other, how can we trust each other? Our basic desires are to be aggressive and violent, according to Hobbes. It is in our human nature to act violently with each other because we know no other ways to deal with quarrel. Hobbes also says that absolute power has to decide what is right and what is wrong for us. It is the fear of consequences that keeps order in a society, because it will discourage us to break the laws. More so, the more we fear, the more security we will have because people will fight to have better security. Part of the fear has to do with the mistrust of people. Hobbes believes we cannot trust each other and we fear everyone due to our violent human nature. At the core,
We were always in war with each other, because it is our nature. He gives a good example of this by saying, “And therefore if any two men desire the same thing, which nevertheless they cannot both enjoy, they become enemies; and in the way to their end endeavor to destroy or subdue one another” (from Leviathan). We created a constant state of war with each other when we cannot agree on things, or share. Our mode of dealing with dispute is violence. So we live in fear of a “violent death” because in our lives there is violence all around us. We hope that our death can be peaceful, and that we don’t end our lives in a violent manner. Hobbes believes all to be equal. He states so, because even the weakest man can kill the strongest man. At the core, we all possess the same physical capabilities, so if someone that is weak can kill someone that is rich, we are equal. There is a distrust among people because, “So that in he nature of man, we find three principal causes of quarrel. First, competition; secondly, diffidence; thirdly glory” from Leviathan. Since war is so common, we find distrust among people. Because if we are always fighting each other, how can we trust each other? Our basic desires are to be aggressive and violent, according to Hobbes. It is in our human nature to act violently with each other because we know no other ways to deal with quarrel. Hobbes also says that absolute power has to decide what is right and what is wrong for us. It is the fear of consequences that keeps order in a society, because it will discourage us to break the laws. More so, the more we fear, the more security we will have because people will fight to have better security. Part of the fear has to do with the mistrust of people. Hobbes believes we cannot trust each other and we fear everyone due to our violent human nature. At the core,