The Importance Of Humanity In The Leviathan By Thomas Hobbes

In his book The Leviathan Thomas Hobbes begins with bringing to the readers attention that despite the fact that all men may not be deemed equal that they were created equal. He backs up this statement by saying, "For as to the strength of body, the weakest has strength enough to kill the strongest, either by a secret machination, or by confederacy with others, that are in the same danger with himself. In saying this, Hobbes illustrates that physical strength is not really an issue or a major factor. Hobbes makes it clear that all men are equal and that they should fear each other.

Something else that Hobbes made clear in The Leviathan that, similar to himself, all men desire peace. After making this statement, he must justify why, if in …show more content…
In the natural state, man has no one to tell them not to act on instinct. Man has no one to tell them not to lie, cheat, and steal and because of this absence of authority, they do whatever they feel is right. They do what they feel will bring them satisfaction no matter how immoral it may seem by the standards of the civilized world. Because of the fact that a government can not be formed in a state of war, it must be formed by a group of peaceful men, in the natural state. While this may seem to go against the laws of human nature, it does not. By creating a government with a central power at its head, the fear of war and death are hence eliminated. Thus, by eliminating the fear of war and death, and guaranteeing the basic needs of life, the laws of human nature are concurrently …show more content…
The first responsibility is to protect the country from the aggression of foreign countries. The second, is to act as an irrefutable, and unbiased judge. Once this government has been securely put in place, a sort of pact is formed between the king and his people. This is a relationship that can be traced back to Confucionistic psychology. This relationship is that between the ruler and the ruled. In basic terms, in the relationship between the ruler and the ruled, it is the job of the ruler to make sure that the ruled, his subjects, are safe within their country and that they have the opportunity to pursue happiness and the necessities of life. The role of the ruled in this relationship is to serve and protect the ruler. The ruled may not overturn the ruler for another assembly or another ruler without the consent of the ruler that is presently in power. If the ruler were to make decisions that were not in the interest of his country and his people, his people would naturally want to rebel against him. Despite this desire, because of the fact that it was the people that put the ruler in place, to go against the ruler would be to go against themselves, and to go against oneself is impossible due to the laws of human nature. However, this situation should never arise because it is the duty of the ruler to serve his subjects, the people, and to ensure that his subjects stay safe