Thomas Hobbes

The aim of the following chapter is to present nature in Thomas Hardy’s Return of the Native and Jude the Obscure as a driving force from which human beings are dependent. The focus will be also put on the intellectual ferment caused by the discoveries of that time which place human beings at the same level as animals and question the immortality of soul. The protagonists will be presented as individuals struggling for existence in a harsh world governed by passion and chance. In the course of…

Starting off, they each had a distinctive understanding of human nature from one another. To Rousseau, humans in primitive times were "noble savages" and it is "civilization" that turned man into a "beast". Conversely, Hobbes believed that being "civilized" is a positive trait and being uncivilized or a "savage" is bad. Concerning human nature, Rousseau theorized that humans were innately good and generous, before being corrupted by the vices of civilization. Human life was most likely peaceful…

“The patriarchal world view sees man as the measure of all value, with no space for diversity, only for hierarchy. Woman, being different, is treated as unequal and inferior.” (Shiva 164) Random and reckless industrialization and commercialization in recent years have resulted in thoughtless exploitation of nature and its precious resources. In the great name of development and progression, nature with all its benevolent resources has been subjected to merciless plundering with the consequence…

Kautilya as a Strategic Advisor Kautilya operated as a key advisor to the Indian King Chandragupta and sought to encapsulate his interpretation of the science of politics in a work that would instruct kings on how to properly govern their states. Whether in the ancient or modern world the counsel provided by a strategic advisor must adhere to some basic principles to ensure the advice is received, respected and ultimately acted upon by a senior leader. James E. Lukaszewski categorizes such…

Autocratic Leadership — The autocratic leader is given the power to make decisions alone, having total authority. They stand in master of the people and impose their wills and no one is allowed to challenge them. This is the style used by the Catholic Church for example, dictators and monarchs. On the other end, this leadership style is seems to be good for employees that need close supervision to perform certain tasks. Creative employees and team players resent this type of leadership, since…

Ibn Khaldun’s greatest contribution to the study of politics and social behaviors is his concept of Asabiya. When reading his Muqaddimah, one should be really careful as the Khaldunian philosophy is such a highly selective and well organized one. Any misinterpretation can lead us to huge misconception like what happened with many who interpreted Asabiya as the base to establish a state while Luxury lead to its collapse Franz Rosenthal, the first and might be the only translator of the entire…

Logical Appeals Essay In Federalist 51, by James Madison, there are several examples of the classical appeals ethos, logos, and pathos that strengthen the Madison's point and allow him to get across his point far easier. The appeals not only pull the reader further into James Madison's opinion with emotion, but with common sense, and logic. Federalist 51 explains the importance of separation of powers, checks and balances, and what each branch needs to do in order to be successful.…

During the debates over the Reconstruction amendments, I was particularly interested in the controversy about the ambiguous compromise of rights that the 14th amendment declared to protect with its Equal Protection Clause. Equality is difficult to define with the various interpretations in precedent and it has proven to still be a continued controversy today. More specifically, the controversy that has persisted is the issue of whether the State or Federal government would be the ones to decide…

Vigilantism and Society In John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, he assesses vigilantism and its place in the state of nature and in society. Vigilantism is the act of a citizen, not connected to any governing body or law enforcement, taking the law into their own hands. Vigilante justice is not ideal according to Locke, and only is permissible when attacked in the state of nature. When one enters into a society, institutions exist that take the place of vigilantism. Locke’s argument about…

Most of Rousseau's philosophy is rooted in an outlook that was far more positive than any previous philosophy before it. In his demonstration of a state of nature that “no longer exists, which has, perhaps, never existed,” Rousseau shows his audience what a world where people lived within a pure state of nature would be like. In his attempts to define what human nature would be like without any social or political institutions, Rousseau brings forth the notion that without these institutions,…