Hobbesian State Of Nature Essay

The state is a system of authority over a group of people, usually in the arrangement of a formal government, meant to organize the people and resolve conflicts between individuals. This paper will explore the ways the state of nature justifies the creation of the state as the state of nature is the world without a government. The state of nature is the alternative to the state since it lacks a system of authority. Specifically, the Hobbesian state of nature will be used for this argument since Hobbes’ state of nature depicts man living in fear of his fellow man. The individual naturally has the need for self-preservation, but in the state of nature they feel threatened by the disorder created by total liberty, so the individual’s fear causes …show more content…
The individual would instead live an independent life trying to survive on the available resources. In Hobbes’ idea of the state of nature there is an expected occurrence of competition. This is because Hobbes believes that all men are created equal in the state of nature. Although all individuals may not be the same size or have the same mental capacity, those differences become obsolete with equal distribution between all people. For example, a strong man could forcefully overcome a weaker one, but the weaker man can cultivate his mind to be able to outsmart his opponent. The individual in Hobbes’ state of nature also exhibit the need of self-preservation and a desire for a life with food and shelter. The Hobbesian state of nature revolves around the scarcity of resources. Because all people are equal, have a desire to live, and resources are scare, there is a natural competition between men. Competition between individuals to obtain resources can include a number of harmful acts such as stealing, maiming, and even killing a fellow individual. Hobbes describes this human nature as the state of discord within the state of