John Locke was very different from another great philosopher named Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes believed that the individual was completely helpless and corrupt. He believed that a monarchy was the best form of government. He came up with this because he traveled around the world learning about forms of government to help England’s. John locke, on the other hand, believed only that the whole was better than the self.…
Locke played off of Hobbes idea that the sovereign must justify its exercise of power. In contrast however, Locke went much further into identifying human rights. Locke writes that: The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions: for men being all the workmanship of one omnipotent, and infinitely wise maker. (Locke 107) Locke believed that in a state of nature all men are inherently equal.…
They do not even have the same definition of the common good. Hobbes says that everyone is always in search of power to have a one up on the next person in order to be happy. So a powerful government is only there to protect us and keep us happy. Locke says that political power is the right to promote the common good. Although, Hobbes might agree that it is to promote the common good, however, they have completely different ideas of the definition of the common good.…
John Locke and Thomas Hobbes had very opposite theories. Thomas Hobbes idea was very different from the natural law but John Locke’s idea was close and similar to the natural law. Locke’s theory was the efficiency of getting what the people want. John Locke might have followed the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes and cooperated to a different theory but his theory is the better understanding of the nature of…
Although Locke and Hobbes disagreed about the nature of people, both of them made a point of stating that people had inalienable rights. Locke’s whole basis of philosophy was based on the belief that every human had natural rights, rights that existed…
John Locke, Thomas Hobbes and How They Changed Schools Can you imagine what the world will be like if clubs had no leaders? Or if electives didn't give you the opportunity to learn from new experiences? Both John Locke and Thomas Hobbes would have agreed with the clubs and electives. Locke wanted people to learn from new experiences, that was how he viewed human nature. Hobbes wanted leaders to lead on to others.…
Hobbes beilved the goverment was to protect us from ourselves and Locke beilved it was to protect the natural rights. Hobbes beilved that the goverments power can not be limited and Locke beilved it…
Initially their similarities, followed by the differences. Concluding with a summary of some main points. I. Thomas Hobbes Both political philosophers, Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and John Locke (1632-1704) have similar ideas in…
His similarities to Locke have much to do with the social contract theory, which he was also believed in. Despite this, the two theories differ fundamentally on why government has its place in society and how influential government can be. (p.15). Hobbes put a great emphasis on government, probably in part due to the era in which he lived. Hobbes did not quite live long enough to see the Enlightenment and the new ideals that shortly followed.…
Hobbes and Locke both thought government was unfortunate, but essential. Thomas Hobbes wrote in Leviathan that without law there would be chaos. He writes “The notions of Right and Wrong, Justice and Injustice have there no place. Where there is no common power,…
Hobbes and Locke are both social contract theorists who have influenced many citizens of this country. To begin, they both start out talking about human nature. Locke and Hobbes had very different views regarding human nature. Locke claimed human nature as reason and Hobbes claimed it as power and appetite. Locke believes that reason is the primary attribute of human nature.…
Both theorists believe in natural rights and freedoms and how men establish governments in order to secure peace however they differ on the purpose of government. Hobbes believed the purpose of government is to impose law and order to prevent the state of war. Locke believed the purpose of government is to secure natural rights, namely man’s property and liberty. Both refer to a “state of nature” in which man exists without government, and both speak of risks in this state. However, while both speak of the dangers of a state of nature, Hobbes is more pessimistic, whereas Locke speaks of the potential benefits.…
Extremely unlike Hobbes’s view, Locke had a more positive view of human nature and believed in their views and opinions. Locke believed humans could improve themselves and even a government if they were willing to do, so while Hobbes on the other hand believed that humans were narcissistic and only thought about themselves and strived for their own benefit. It is in Locke’s book “The Second Treatise on Government” that the most precise examinations into the right of revolution can be found. Its clear from his book that the right of rebellion and revolution ties hand in hand with Locke’s political theory. this book was used almost to justify the revolution in the late seventeenth century (O’Tool,2011).…
Thomas Hobbes believes humans are born evil, their natural instinct is to be envious, violent, and narcissistic, however, by fear and reason, they are capable of preserving peace. On the other hand, John Locke believes humans are mostly peaceful, good, and pleasant, but circumstances can cause people to be violent and war-like. Locke and Hobbes also differed in social contract theories, whereby John Locke believed that all people have rights that need to be protected by a government, yet the people should remain in power; Thomas Hobbes supported the idea that people are all bad, and because of that, an ultimate ruler needs to establish laws that man should abide by. Although these views seem very apples and oranges, there is a huge discrepancy. John Locke promoted the preservation of all human rights, and on several occasions disapproved of slavery, however, it turns out that he actually endorsed it and proposed that people should have absolute power over them.…
The main similarity being what the purpose of the government or political power is, whereas the main difference is how they view the state of nature. Hobbes views the state of nature as a state of war, whereas Locke views it still as a society, but one that lacks true executive powers. Both philosophers made great contributions to political philosophy, but each had their own failures which later political philosophers tried to fix: “The tradition of political theory that begins with Hobbes and Locke, and continues today with Rawls and Habermas and their innumerable followers, has a blind spot, to which several theorists drew attention in the 1990s. That blind spot is the question of nationhood and nationalism” (Alexander-Davey, p.458). Overall, Hobbes and Locke had their differences, but each added something new to the conversation of political philosophy and the state of…