Similarities Between Hobbes And Rousseau

In political theory, the state of nature can be defined as an indication of the hypothetical conditions on how humans would behave or how their lives might have been before their inclusion within structured societies. Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau are both political theorist who wrote their works based on their perspective on the state of nature extensively, we are able to distinguish their different point of views. Human nature by definition is “the general psychological characteristics, feelings, and behavioral traits of humankind, regarded as shared by all humans” (Oxford). Hobbes and Rousseau wrote about their views and interpretations of human nature, which I will be comparing. Hobbes is well known to be an English philosopher, scientist and historian, but he is ultimately known for his political philosophy. His political philosophy can be articulated in his famous writing “Leviathan”. Leviathan is one of his most important works, due to it being an influential philosophical text during the seventeenth century. Hobbes wrote the Leviathan as a response to the fear he experienced during the political turmoil of the English Civil Wars. To start this comparison Hobbes explains the state of nature to be chaotic and full of conflicts, stating that people are more than willing to fight each other to in order to be able to survive …show more content…
The very slight similarity between is that human beings are free to act in order for their own self interest in the state of nature, but their accounts diverge on the issue of how they realize this self interest. Overall, we are able to analyze that Hobbes gas more a negative view about human nature, since without an “absolute sovereign” being present to keep in control our desires we will live in a very constant state of war. Rousseau’s theory contrasted Hobbes theories, as he thought that human nature is largely