Thomas Hobbes Leviathan Analysis

Register to read the introduction… The Leviathan begins with a discussion of human nature. Hobbes starts by tackling the thoughts of men, and defines them as “representation or appearance of an object…the original of them all is what which we call Sense.” (Hobbes 1994) He continues and illustrates about topics such as thoughts, recollections, remembrance, and communication where man’s promise as rational beings emerge:” The general use of speech is to transfer our mental discourse into verbal, or the train of our thoughts into a train of words.” (Hobbes 1994). Hobbes proceeds with reason and science and begins a conversation on man’s “passions.” …show more content…
““This Endeavour, when it is toward something which causes it, is called Appetite or Desire…And when the Endeavour is from something, it is generally called Aversion.” (Hobbes 1994) Hobbes believes these rules of behavior provide an explanation for man’s unruly actions in nature. Therefore man craves all that fulfills his senses, and man shuns anything that may cause him danger, or pain. He references cravings and aversions as the “simple passions.” They bring about the disorder of daily life in nature. They also explain why men kill and harm each other over goods or shelter, and the sexual attraction between men and women. (Fukuyama 1992)

This idea of appetites and aversions and simple passions are not only used as an explanation for daily life. Hobbes uses them as his focal point for his fundamental surveillance of man, and his characterization of human nature and natural