Thomas Hobbes

prior chapters. Book I, begins by Hobbes beginning his text by considering the motions of matter, and arguing that every aspect of human nature can be deduced from materialist principles. Hobbes then goes on to depict the natural condition of mankind surrounding us, known as the state of nature. The state of nature mentioned in the first book is what Hobbes states as the “war of every man against every man” where people in the world constantly seek to destroy…

John Locke, believed that in the original state of nature, Men exist in their natural condition. While Hobbes advanced a state of nature in which there was war between contending individuals for the scarce resources available, concluding that the state is the only possible check human nature. The state of nature that Locke describes is one of "equality, wherein all power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another" (263). It does not give men license to do absolutely anything…

Homo homini lupus - man is a wolf to man - is a phrase, first used by Plautus, but became famous in Hobbes work “De Cive,“ where it describes the state of nature of the humans before civilization. It means humans are naturally inhuman to each other and this is the motive of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery“. Hobbes believed this behavior can be defeated by civilization. On the other hand Jackson tries to show with her parable that especially civilization is the cause why man becomes wolves. The…

Thomas Hobbes has been recognized as an influential thinker who , broke the tides of traditional divine political theology, and put in place the foundations for a more secular form of political philosophy. At the time were religious pretexts were paramount to the progression of society, Hobbes’s Leviathan portrayed men as creatures whose main concern was the pursuit of self preservation . Though almost half of Leviathan is dedicated to the theological explanation of God, some may argue Gods…

Argument #2 Social Contract Social contracts are an individual 's moral and ethical political obligations, which are dependent upon a contract or agreement. It addresses questions of the origin of the society, and the legitimacy of the authority the state holds over an individual. For Locke, since the state of nature is a state of liberty where people recognize the presence of the Law of Nature and, therefore, do not harm one another, the state of war differs from the state of nature. Property…

1. Jean Hampton (1992) argues that instrumental conceptions of reason are “inescapably normative” (p.347). What this means is that theories that rely on instrumental conceptions of reason cannot escape from the normativity that exists in desires. Normativity in this case can refer to the concept of an “ideal” (p.344) human. The idea human is something that can be used to base our conceptions of good, bad, or irrational actions on. On one hand, A Hobbesian would suggest that “we ought to act…

Hobbes and Locke find themselves at a standoff upon the question of the benefits surrounding absolute sovereign power in relation to society. Hobbes argues against Locke that absolute sovereign powers will rule without malevolence toward their subjects, and power should not be spread beyond one person. He says the idea of sovereign power being “divided” (Leviathan, 29:12) “against the essence of the commonwealth” (29:12) since “powers divided mutually destroy one another” (29:12). Division goes…

Denhardt & Denhardt explain in Chapter One that the government should not be run like a business, it should be run like a democracy. In public administration, new developments have managers listening to the public and not making decisions without their consent and public employees enjoy working with the public and are using their professionalism to make a difference in peopl’s lives (Denhardt & Denhardt 2015). Denhardt & Denhardt explain that the old public administration concern itself with the…

While both stipulate that children love property and power, Locke and Rousseau differ in assumptions of human nature, which leads to different notions on why and when this love of property becomes dangerous. Locke believes that man is born with property, but is ‘tabula rasa’; thus childhood education should be the molding of natural tendencies to encourage a healthy society. Rousseau believes a man to inherently be self-sufficient, and is innately good until selfish motives from industrial…

1. How is the idea of a dictator used in Gattaca and The Lot to ensure the obedience of citizens? - The tyrant encourages individuals to strive for the same ideal as those around them, which inevitably leads to their discontent as they become fixated on their flaws whilst dismissing their individuality. - The dictator acts as a force that compels individuals to discriminate those who do not conform to society’s standards. - The oppressor urges individuals to disregard their self-worth and put…