Thomas Hobbes Argument Analysis

Great Essays
Show More
One of Hobbes’ central claims is that one should obey the laws of one’s state. His main argument surrounds the assertion that the presence of a sovereign is in the people’s best interest, so to go against the sovereign is to go against oneself. The fool objects to this, stating that it is sometimes rational for an agent to break their covenants and go against the sovereign, so long as it will benefit themselves. We will argue that Hobbes’ reply to the fool’s objection is insufficient and will present an amendment to his argument that convincingly dispels the fool’s objection, leading us to agree with Hobbes that one should obey the laws of one’s state.
Hobbes’ overarching argument is that the presence of a sovereign is in the people’s best interest, and thereby going against it is to go against oneself. Essentially, by implementing a sovereign, we are drawing away from the state of nature. Hobbes describes the life of man in the state of …show more content…
In other words, these laws of nature are principles that forbid one to act in any manner that is destructive to one’s life. Hobbes states three laws of nature. The first states that men should seek peace by any means and if that is impossible to obtain, only then should we attack. The second law of nature tells us to lay down our rights if others will, meaning that an agent should “be contented with so much liberty against other men as he would allow other men against himself (Hobbes, 127). The third and final law of nature we will discuss states that we should keep our covenants. This is perhaps Hobbes’ most crucial point in proving why the presence of a sovereign is in the people’s best interest. The only way to ensure that the third law of nature is upholded is if a sovereign is implemented with the power to enforce these

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Meng Tzu Case Study
    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Meng Tzu Case Study

    In that state of nature we respond to others in three different ways. First, competition, which is what we invade to take what another has for ourselves. Second, diffidence, which is when we fear another and have a desire for safety in order to retain what we already have. Lastly, the strife for glory, which is when we worry about appearing significant in another’s eyes. A society with laws and moral codes can be instituted from a state of nature because Hobbes believed a society is formed is due to fear and the desire for security.…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Leviathan By Thomas Hobbes And The Second Treatise Of Government In Modern Society
    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Leviathan By Thomas Hobbes And The Second Treatise Of Government In Modern Society

    The famous political texts Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes and The Second Treatise of Government by John Locke have had a profound impact on what is seen to be the role of government in society, with the latter having more lasting influence, particularly in modern society. The former, in short, argues that men ought to submit themselves and all of their rights to an entity with absolute authority over them, and that no matter how this man, or assembly of men abuses its power, they ought not to resist this entity, as the alternative is a chaotic, violent world. Just by examining the thesis of Hobbes’ work, one would easily deduce that such an idea is contrary to the ideals lauded in our modern society, those being of certain inalienable rights, the rule of law, and the separation/limitation of powers. Locke presents each of these aforementioned ideals and explains them to be essential to governance for the common good.…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Machiavelli And Hobbes Political Analysis
    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Machiavelli And Hobbes Political Analysis

    It is from this idea that Hobbes argues that the fear of death and bodily harm usher man to seek collective peace. The anarchy of the state of nature is consistent with the continual emotion of fear, fear that someone will steal your property or perhaps enslavement. To relieve this tension and enjoy life with less worry, Hobbes claims that people create a social contract between them and a ruler. According to him, people would essentially give up their power to one ruler who in turn, the ruler would ensure they could live peacefully. The only right left to the people, after they give all their power to a ruler and agree to abide by those laws, is the right to not be killed.…

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Machiavelli Vs Hobbes Political Power Analysis
    • 1550 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Machiavelli Vs Hobbes Political Power Analysis

    ‘For Hobbes, the purpose of politics is to escape war. As such, he insists that in order to establish a democratic political order, all individuals need to hand over their will to a single point of ultimate authority’ (Field, 2015). Due to their beliefs on human nature, Hobbes and Machiavelli shared comparable principles with regards to the need of a sovereign ruler, and the requirement for a functioning supreme power in order to control the people. In the enlightenment period in which Hobbes wrote in his book the Leviathan about the human nature of people, he, similarly to Machiavelli, described that they were selfish and war-prone. Hobbes believed that people are not born with the understanding of what was right…

    • 1550 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Thomas Hobbes Absolute Sovereign
    • 334 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Thomas Hobbes Absolute Sovereign

    America under its original national government was inadequate, The Articles of Confederation focused on a loose central government with most of the power belonging to the states. Our founding father believed we needed a stronger federal government and with the help of ideas from British philosophers, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke the creation of the U.S. Constitution came to be on September 17, 1787. Thomas Hobbes did not believe in a democratic government instead he agreed with the idea that the government should have an absolute sovereign. In his famous, book “Leviathan” discussed his thoughts on how the government’s authority is necessary. The main reasoning behind this proposition was due to his belief that “in a state of nature men and…

    • 334 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Sovereign Government In Thomas Hobbes Leviathan
    • 1569 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Sovereign Government In Thomas Hobbes Leviathan

    In Leviathan, Hobbes seeks to refute the argument of Machiavelli, that the best governments are those of usurpation or those taken and maintained by any means necessary, in order to preserve the sovereignty of government after England had been on the verge of civil war. In order to refute the argument for one in favor of a representative, sovereign government, he begins by describing the reasons for a civil government. He then explains the existence of the natural laws and their applications to governing in order to prove that a sovereign government is the best form. Finally, he lays an idealistic foundation upon which sovereign governments should be built in order to be truly beneficial. Hobbes begins by justifying the formation of a civil…

    • 1569 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    Compare And Contrast John Locke And Thomas Hobbes
    • 2054 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Compare And Contrast John Locke And Thomas Hobbes

    Thomas Hobbes and John Locke both agree that subjects shall summit to a sovereign their right and obligations such as, judgment and consequences. It can be due to both having the notion that their ideal ruler(s) should have some sort of authority towards their men. In order to guide them to peace. Also by doing this their sovereign(s) can be portrayed as superior and subject’s inferior by having more rights and entitlement than them. In other words, it creates some hierarchical system where both Hobbes and Locke ideal ruler(s) authorize all that occurs within society and subjects shall be obedient with minimal input.…

    • 2054 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    Strengths And Weaknesses Of Hobbes Theory Of Civil Order
    • 1919 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Strengths And Weaknesses Of Hobbes Theory Of Civil Order

    PS4217F Major Political Thinkers: Hobbes Assignment 1: What are the main strengths and weaknesses of Hobbes’ theory of civil order? Name: Denise Cher Yan Wen Matriculation Number: A0127001A Word Count: 1887 Introduction Hobbes’ theory of civil order is based on the fundamental law of nature, which is to seek peace (Hobbes 2012, 200). According to Hobbes, to seek peace is necessarily to seek peace in the condition of war, and justice is therefore a legal compliance with the terms of the social contract (Hobbes 2012, 220).…

    • 1919 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Leviathan Injustice
    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Leviathan Injustice

    D.J.C. Carmichael, Professor at the University of Alberta, explores Hobbes’ notion of natural rights in the commonwealth. While Carmichael acknowledges that most contemporary thinkers associate Hobbes with sovereign authoritarianism, he aims to demonstrate that the commonwealth actually permits the existence of “true liberties,” which belong to each individual citizen. More specifically, Carmichael presents a detailed analysis of chapter 21 of Hobbes’ Leviathan, which demonstrates the presence of certain sovereign commands that subjects can decline to obey. He then turns to chapters 26 through 28 to elucidate certain constraints on sovereign action in the realm of law and punishment. Although Carmichael does no go as far as to claim that these…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Comparing Hobbes And Aristotle's Views Of Human Nature
    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Comparing Hobbes And Aristotle's Views Of Human Nature

    Aristotle states that the polis allows for man to have the best life, and thus they naturally choose to live in it through the usage of reason. Similarly, Hobbes holds that the natural law is what leads us to forming a polis. The natural law states that man should do anything possible to extend his own life, this means creating peace. To Hobbes the only way to create peace is through having a sovereign, which in the process has individuals give up all their rights to the sovereign, except there right to protection of one’s own self. The sovereign therefore allows for peace which makes it the best possible place for individuals to live.…

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Hobbes And Locke's View On Human Nature
    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hobbes And Locke's View On Human Nature

    The biggest bully becomes the leader of the government and keeps people safer than they would be in the state of nature. The people will stay in line because having the sovereign in control gets them out of the bad state of nature. Simply put, we get scared, and then we want the government to fix it- to make it go away, however, the government needs more power to do so, so we give it to them so we can feel safe. The purpose of government to Hobbes is safety, and the government can do whatever it wants to as long as it keeps people safer than they would be in the state of nature. Hobbes believes that government isn’t limited by anything.…

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Difference Between Hobbes And Rousseau
    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Difference Between Hobbes And Rousseau

    A lot of conclusions can be brought from this statement and Rousseau’s and Hobbes’s bear no resemblance. While the former believes that all men give themselves and their rights to the ‘body politic’ and that people ‘’place themselves under the supreme direction of the General Will’’ , the latter argues that all men should give themselves and all their rights to a third party, the sovereign. Hobbes believes that this sovereign stands above society and can punish those who disobey him, the reason why people accept this is because they acquire…

    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Hobbes Views On Rebellion
    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Hobbes Views On Rebellion

    He believed that society in order to be successful had to be ruled by a strict system of government such as absolute monarchy. In Hobbes’s dissertation “The Leviathan”(1651) a book where he expresses his views he explains that a law of nature was "a precept, or general rule, found out by reason, by which a man is forbidden to do that which is destructive of his life” (Hobbes, 1651, ch14/XIV, p. 64). The law of nature was a broad principle which was discovered through experience and expected to be to be followed in everyday life. These laws encouraged self preservation and disapproved any doings damaging or negative to human life such a rebellions which could result in civil…

    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    Aristotle And Its Rivalry Against Aristotle By Thomas Hobbes
    • 1962 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Aristotle And Its Rivalry Against Aristotle By Thomas Hobbes

    Hobbes’ major achievement to political philosophy is called the ‘social contract theory.’ First of all, Hobbes had a different view of human’s nature as Aristotle to start from. He saw human nature was to be tamed by politics, not exercised. According to Aristotle, The nature of human was to be completed and flourished through community and politics (SEP, 2002). In contrast, Hobbes claims that the state of human nature was war.…

    • 1962 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    Compare And Contrast Hobbes Locke And Rousseau
    • 1796 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Compare And Contrast Hobbes Locke And Rousseau

    Hobbes cared about maximizing liberty, defining social justice, and knowing how to divide the limits of the government power. The process of the state of nature is formed by a community and a government. People would view him as a “Psychological egoist” he was over the top with an unrealistic view of human nature. In the laws of nature and the social contract, “Hobbes thinks the state of nature is something we ought to avoid, at any cost except our own self presentation” (Thomas Hobbes). Hobbes believed in a social contract and how it would help the government rule the society.…

    • 1796 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings