Thomas Hobbes was an English political philosopher born on April 5, 1588 in Westport, Wiltshire. He received an education at Oxford University in England where he studied classics. In his early life, he traveled to many European countries to meet scientists and study the knowledge of government. Hobbes became interested in government and questioned why people let themselves be ruled. This idea brought on more ideas and soon he started thinking of a new form of government for England.…
Everyday, people carry on with their lives knowing that there is both good and evil in the world. Some might distinguish the evil outweighing the good, while others spot the good outweighing the evil. Whichever side one might choose from this debate, it is natural that for humans to stop and wonder about humanity. A recurring controversy that crosses over a person's mind is whether humans are naturally and inherently good or, worse, they’re naturally and inherently evil. Society tends to lean on the idea that humans are selfish, in fact, 78% of the population believes others to be more selfish than they really are.…
Since the inception of humanity, the ongoing argument has reigned of whether man is basically evil or good. Accompanying this argument is the question: Does humanity have free will to act upon the universe as we please or are we fate’s puppet to do as fate deems worthy? In Loung Ung’s, First They Killed My Father and William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, both question and argument are laid to rest as both authors open the window to the human soul with the cruelty of humans and the differing opinions of good and evil. As philosopher Thomas Hobbes said, “Moral philosophy is nothing else but the science of what is good, and evil, in the conversation, and society of humanity.…
Many of Hobbes’ ideas are derived from the basic assumption that all humans are intrinsically selfish. We are all born relatively equal in our physical and intellectual capacities and so we are constantly striving to be better than others. This comes with being an autonomous individual. We are all responsible for ourselves, so the next logical step is to serve ourselves. He is a materialist, so he does not believe in any form of a higher, divine being.…
In Leviathan, Hobbes makes a few key assumptions about human behavior in the natural world – namely that all men are equal, desire for what is best for oneself, and have the right to do all things in the preservation and improvement of life – in the “the state of nature”. Upon this, he builds his subtractive…
How could a tree grow without the foundation of the roots embedded underneath the motherland? Which could be also said about the the document that inspired America’s founding, the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was constructed to exemplify the American colonies independence from Great Britain with the most known statement “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” A point often overlooked, the Declaration of Independence was based on the idealism of enlightenment thinker during the Enlightenment Era, which was between the early 18th century For the fear that we are not truly valuing the Enlightenment era’s contributions, it is essential to reiterate the philosophy of the Enlightenment era and the philosophical fathers; Montesquieu, John Locke, and Thomas Hobbes. To illustrate the philosophy the Enlightenment gave to America 's founding document it is essential to…
This essay is solely based on the German philosopher Kant Immanuel and British philosopher Thomas Hobbes in relation to their study on morals. Both philosophers have their own understanding on the topic of morality in which both perceive ideas in their own way. Kant leans toward more of a rationalistic view of morality, emphasizing the mandatory need to ground the prior principle. Meanwhile, Hobbes has taken more of an empirical view of the fact that we ought to do what we believe in is in relation to self interest but both occur in order to take a subjective point. In other words, they viewed the issue of morality from a person-centered approach.…
This is a paper comparing the Aristotle and Hobbes understandings of human nature. Aristotle states that man is a “political animal”, and that it is thus natural for man to live in a polis. Hobbes disagrees with this understanding of man a political animal, as he claims that man is actually a greedy being that is driven by power. Thus he feels that the natural state of man is a state of war. Although the two disagree initially about the man’s natural state, Aristotle comes to agree with Hobbes’ view since they agree that without a common sense of justice that individuals have no reason to live together.…
Hobbes’ belief in the inherent selfishness of human begins who desire power can clearly be seen when Jack kills his first pig and the boys miss the chance of being rescued. In his most famous work, Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes articulates his view on the selfish nature of humans when he writes, “For such is the nature of man, that howsoever they may acknowledge many others to be more witty, or more eloquent, or more learned; Yet they will hardly believe there be many so wise as themselves: For they see their own wit at hand, and other mens at a distance”(Hobbes). Hobbes uses parallel structure to articulate the idea that an individual believes themselves better than all others in a society.…
Further, Hobbes states that prior to society morals do not exist. Humans in their state of nature are unable to make a moral distinction between good and evil. Good is simply what they desire, and evil is what they want to…
Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Karl Marx were three opposing philosophers during the Enlightenment with their own interpretations on government and people. Hobbes believed society needed an absolute monarchy, “to confer all their power and strength upon one man.” Locke said that human nature had natural rights, and were therefore “not to be under the will or legislative authority of man.” Finally, Marx believed in communism, in which belongings are public. All of the philosophies had their own relation to the social contract, which was introduced by Jean Jacques Rousseau.…
Hobbes, on the other hand, thinks that people only care about power and appetite. We want certain things and we want to get power to get those things. Hobbes’ view is that there is no such thing as responsibility. Moreover, we look at the state of nature. Locke stated that the state of nature is the state of no government; law that obliges everyone and reason.…
Thomas Hobbes is a well renowned philosopher, specifically in the world of political philosophy. His work the Leviathan opened up revolutionary ideas that were beyond his time. Hobbes wrote the “Leviathan” during the English Civil War, a war caused by religion and violently ending with the beheading of the king. Hobbes watched this madness unfold, leading him to extend a “helping hand” over to England authority, by publicizing a solution for all to read. His work introduced a radical topic by the name of “Social Contract,” which proposed that a person’s morals and/or political obligations are dependent on an agreement to form or coexist in a society.…
Hobbes’ maintains humans have a “natural condition,” which may be either blissful or brutish. Given such condition, Hobbes asks, how members of society to act/ought to be. Intuitively many philosophers agree members of a society existing blissfully is not only preferred, but better. And, if we grant what is better for society captures that which is good for a society, then individuals ought to act according to the promotion of this peaceful societal end. One objection to Hobbes comes from whether an individual has the right to opt-out of the contract.…
Hobbes wants the society to work together meaning giving some rights up in exchange for protection. “This equality of ability produces equality of hope for the attaining of our goals” (Thomas Hobbes). For example, if two people want something they both can’t enjoy or use then they quickly become enemies. Hobbes view, “A law of nature is a command or general rule, discovered by reason, which forbids a man to do anything that is destructive of his life or takes away his means for preserving his life, and forbids him to omit anything by which he thinks his life can best be preserved” (Leviathan, Chapter 14). Those who debate this subject often mistake right and law to be the same yet they ought to be distinguished.…