Civil society

The state of nature is like being in a zombie movie. It sucks. This is the plot for the popular series “The Walking Dead”. No one can be trusted, and those we do are held to a verbal and at times armed contract, “I scratch your back, you scratch mine”. In forming these contracts, we give up our freedom for protection and security. This is the thinking of 16th century philosopher, Thomas Hobbes. Pessimistic, he believed that all human acts were motivated by self-interest and the quest for power.…

of philosophers like Thomas Hobbes and Jean Jacques-Rousseau, we have seen different ways of interpreting the role of property and freedom not only in relation to one’s self, but also within a community, and a political society. Hobbes acknowledges the power dynamics in a society that alter the way in which we live and consequently rebel. He understands the mutual relationship of property and freedom as a fixed obligation of the common man to submit their freedom to a ruler or government through…

something every day and it will be useful in their life. Even though, If someone does not work, they should do some community work or volunteer work to help the society and keep themselves busy. Otherwise, lack of work not only causes loss of creativity, but it also makes you lose to be in contact with the community. Humanity can take the society to the right directions and help them with their needs. People only should work when they need it, but if they don’t work they instigate the problem.…

individualism and doesn’t like living in a strict society in the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand. Except in his collectivist society everyone is bound by rules to protect their general safety. Everyone must be the same so there's no conflict. Many rules and controls can ruin a person, like it ruined Equalities perspective on his collective community. Ayn Rand shows the importance of rules through the dystopian society. In Equality 7-2521 collectivist society rules are made to ensure order within the…

almost being too practical. In their rationality, the Houyhnhnms view themselves as morally superior to the Yahoos, seeing it acceptable to exploit them through slave labor. In fact, forced servitude of the human-like Yahoos is one of the pillars of society in their state: "The Houyhnhnms keep the Yahoos for present Use in Huts not far from the House" (Gulliver's Travels, 248). They even go as far as suggesting a mass genocide of the Yahoos because of personal animosity against them due to the…

The Metamorphosis: In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka suggests that the deep roots of societal values are determined, not by character, but by what others can you for oneself. Gregor Sansa is a man who fell victim to the selfish morals of others. In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka suggests that societal values are based upon our own needs and are changed when those needs are distorted by external factors. Grete’s distortion towards her brother, Gregor, is evident when she asserts, “I won't…

counter stoicism, the play presents itself first as a stoic world. Frye indicates in his essay that Albany and Edgar stands for the moralist (111); and Moretti in “Great Eclipse” argues that King Lear is in-between an old feudalist society and a new absolutist society. However, these characters does not stand for a vague, universal ethics; and feudalism, as a political concept, must have a reciprocal relationship with cultural doctrine as to integrate the social and the political. I suggest that…

The Swimmer Nature. “The phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations.” That defi-nition sets up two contrasts that are central in The Swimmer by S.J. Butler: man vs. nature. In order to explain how the two perform side by side in this short story, I will analyze setting and the devel-opment in the protagonist of the story as well as symbolism of a few somethings. The…

What happens when a man gains complete control over another man’s life? Even if that man is kind and giving, what does it say about a man who owns another man’s existence; his life, his death, every part of him? To mold another man in an experiment and take away that which makes him human is undoubtedly inhumane. In The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson, Mr. Gitney, who also goes by Mr. 03-01, does just that. In an effort to prove whether or not African and Caucasian people…

Hobbes’ central aim in his Leviathan is to provide an explanation of why the state exists, but most importantly why it is justified in telling us what to do. To answer these questions, he imagines a world without political institutions, therefore in a state of nature. In chapter thirteen, he describes how this state of nature leads to a state of “every man against every man” (Hobbes, 1651: 84). Indeed, Hobbes’ thesis first provides the assumption that all men are equal, in the sense they have…