Do you have an unquenchable and selfish desire for power? According to Thomas Hobbes take on human nature, you do. This view will be examined by asking; Does Hobbes’s account of why life would be so bad in the ‘state of nature’ rest on a false assumption about human nature? Who is Thomas Hobbes will be the first premise for investigation then The ‘state of nature’ as defined by Hobbes will be described then assessed. Once there is an understanding of the ‘state of nature’, its relationship with Hobbes view on human nature will be investigated along with the opposing view of John Locke. It will be concluded that human nature is far too varied and complex to have one correct assumption defining every aspect of human life, while Hobbes assumption is correct in some cases, it is incorrect in others. To reach this conclusion, studies concerning human nature will be examined and the evidence will be used to back up my conclusion that Hobbes assumption is incorrect.
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A social contract is the agreement between citizens and government whereby citizens lend their power to politicians under the justification that politicians use this power for the collective good and to satisfy peoples needs. Hampton, J, (1986) (MORE DETAILS HERE). Due to human nature (according to hobbes) this would lead to an everyman for themselves style of living dominated by mankind’s selfish and self seeking desires which would create a “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short” (HOBBES) life. He declared that human beings are only sociable through the necessity of fulfilling their needs and desires. This state of nature relies entirely on a pessimistic view of human nature and is incompatible with the liberal view of human nature. Liberal Theories about human nature and John Locke will now be
A social contract is the agreement between citizens and government whereby citizens lend their power to politicians under the justification that politicians use this power for the collective good and to satisfy peoples needs. Hampton, J, (1986) (MORE DETAILS HERE). Due to human nature (according to hobbes) this would lead to an everyman for themselves style of living dominated by mankind’s selfish and self seeking desires which would create a “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short” (HOBBES) life. He declared that human beings are only sociable through the necessity of fulfilling their needs and desires. This state of nature relies entirely on a pessimistic view of human nature and is incompatible with the liberal view of human nature. Liberal Theories about human nature and John Locke will now be