Thomas Hobbes

Introduction The social contract has been profoundly tackled throughout the history, starting with the ancient times. The difficulties between the government and its people particularly arise when both try to decide what a legitimate connection ought to incorporate them and, consequently, what would bring everyone towards common agreements. In order to understand why social contract comes into the debate with 16th-17th century philosophers, it would be helpful to reflect on the historical…

but are still bound by the laws of nature, so they can’t just do whatever they want. In other words, it’s not a state without morality although there is no governmental authority to punish people for their transgressions. Locke’s main problem with Hobbes’ social contract theory was that it didn’t secure property rights. Property plays an essential role in Locke’s social contract theory. To him, there is no justice if people don’t have property rights. In the state of nature, property rights are…

Hobbes and Machiavelli, while authors of different political theories, shared many similar values that I feel Socrates would not agree with. Socrates’ idea of the natural state of man is much more positive than that of both Hobbes and Machiavelli who felt humans were naturally warlike. The theorists’ favored types of governments mirror their outlook on human nature, as the pessimists prefer monarchies, and Socrates, a republic, which was present in Rome at the time. The key to government at this…

Introductory Paragraph There is no man capable of overcoming nature In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story The Birthmark Alymer attempts to do just that. All those who attempt to overcome nature will receive severe punishment In The Birthmark, it is proven that nature has undeniable dominance over man Georgiana’s immediate sadness from waking up after what seemed like a success is proof that no man is above nature. Her immediate expression displays worry when seemingly all should be well. She has…

Masculinity Power, honor and dominance, all the necessary elements to be a man. In the novel Things Fall Apart and the short story, The Man Who Would Be King the main characters must sacrifice their themselves in order to achieve what they want the most, which is respect and authority. My paper will analyze the concepts of masculinity in The Man Who Would Be King by Rudy Kipling and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe there's a man named…

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a playwright written between 1599 and 1606, at the time of King James I’s reign. During the time period in which King James I ruled England, the “divine right of Kings” doctrine was in place. This was the belief that the king’s rule was God’s will and that the king was the mortal representation of God on Earth. Additionally, it was during this time where religion drove people’s ethics and moral choices, which is why biblical allusions and parallels are often seen in…

Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein challenges the readers to question the meaning of humanity. The Oxford English Dictionary defines humanity as “human affairs” and “human nature”, and also as “the quality of being humane,” (humanity, n). The affairs in life gather and form the nature of people, and the characteristics of nature makes it possible to define the quality of mankind. If so, what differentiates humans from other living beings, and makes it possible for people to name such quality as…

Law is an integral part of society; it is what guides humanity away from anarchy and pandemonium. However, just as easily as law leads people to morality, it can become overreaching and command them into forcible submission to authority. Both divine laws, those derived from the biblical teachings of God, and civil law, or the laws set forth by authority figures of society, can often become obstacle in man’s venture for self-consciousness, however. In Albert Camus’ The Stranger, Meursault lacks…

A collectivist society seeks to control one's individual independence by forcing everyone to be equal to each other in all aspects. In Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, Rand uses Equality’s sense of morality to depict how individuality has more significance than the collectivism displayed in the society he was born into. In this society, it is portrayed as where one has to lower their level of intelligence and potential in order to meet the standards the government holds. Equality struggles with…

Henry Thoreau believes that the government must be better, not just for the majority, but for all those that are part of it. He begins his civil disobedience essay by stating, “the government is at it’s best but expedient ,” this is implying that government fails to resolve the issues that the people quickly, making whatever provided “worse than the evil.” Thoreau believes that a government runned by the majority, does not necessarily make the decision fair and just, it simply means that it is…