Thomas Hobbes Theory Of The Laws Of Nature

Thomas Hobbes’ theory of the “laws of nature,” is law that is determined by natural rights, or a common rule. He speaks of nineteen laws of nature that derive from the rights of nature or the natural instinct of self-protection. The laws of nature are created in everyone’s self-interest, without them there would be no protection by a third party, only that which a person could provide for themselves. He believes that in a man’s natural state, or human nature, there are no morals, therefore man will do anything to accomplish their desires. Hobbes’ uses the “golden rule,” but adapts it to his own translation, “do not that to another, which thou wouldest not have done to thy selfe.” This changes the rule drastically in the eyes of many, instead …show more content…
People want power to protect themselves, not for the sole fact of having power, but having enough power. He also says conflict comes from fear, fear that what you have could possibly be taken from you from others seeking power. People will also fight for honor over slander or arguments. When Hobbes speaks of human nature, he implies that there are certain elements that people strive for; competition, diffidence, and honor. Without these three components, man would have anarchy, these provide the grounds for a government or third party to watch over and protect a society. Each of the laws of nature described by Hobbes can be directly associated with a right of nature. For example, the first law of nature is that every man should venture for peace. This leads to the right of nature, when peace cannot be obtained, man must turn to war. The second law states that man should be willing to lay down his natural rights in order to create a compact, right of nature is refusing to lay down more or less than another person will, or the desire to be equivalent in the eyes of the …show more content…
This is because human nature is to do everything you can to achieve what you want in life whether it is morally right or wrong. If a person’s self interest is to rid the world of a certain ethnicity or religion, he might take to killing people in order to reach his goal. This is morally wrong, but it is in his self interest to do so. Hobbes claims that fear and hope propel humans in their quest of life and this is true, because of the fact that people will do everything in their power to obtain what they want out of life, this is why the laws of nature must be upheld. Without them, humans would act regardless of the fear or hope. A quote from the movie The Hunger Games says, “Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope is effective. A lot of hope is dangerous. A spark is fine, as long as it 's contained.” This is true because without hope, fear would take over the minds of people, and hinder their actions, but hope keeps their dreams alive, pushing them to achieve what they want out of life. When people contain too much hope, they might have the idea to rebelle or attempt an overthrow of the government, this is why we have government. The government uses laws to contain the hope of it’s people, while allowing them a glimpse of light to keep them