Thomas Hobbes Controversial Leviathan

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Thomas Hobbes:
First and foremost Thomas Hobbes wrote the controversial Leviathan to help explain and justify his theories on a psychological level as well as a physiological level. Deriving from this text and information that supports it in the Leviathan, he basically outlines his thoughts, first in a psychological way about the individual human and his state of nature, having a sense of motion and perception that imply his/her actions. Hobbes understands that human nature is everywhere and people have the capacity to reason. He wrote in a time of Civil Wars, right after an England King was recently beheaded. His theories of political obligation are grounded in human rationality because he sees that the majority of individuals act in their
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Through the laws of nature, he states in his writings, that the commonwealth is created when the people agree to give up their alienable rights. This occurs because originally there is no common power and people naturally need security, want peace, and order amongst them. Also he tells us to “seek peace if you can get it; else make war”. Ultimately stating (in Chapter 13) that there is no one man that can absolutely dwarf everyone, which brings the theory that the “state of nature” is a “state of war”. Hobbes feels that this is only attainable (the social contract) if there is civil order and a sovereign to enforce these things, making men accountable to their actions, and not just basing their natural rights off of trust from one another. Because the “mutual transferring of rights” will be null and void if there is no dominant common power over everyone to enforce the …show more content…
He often refers to the breaking of trust between the government and its’ people, and if that trust is broken in the executive or the legislative then rebellion must occur, resulting in a new government formation. For instance if there was a sovereign and he sought after absolute power, he should be overthrown by the people. The ruler has just initiated a “state of war” between him and his people. Locke condones this only when it is necessary for the people to do this. The power will never go back to those in the previous government but will lie in the hands of the people that are in need of establishing a new government. It is clear to understand that when a government is overthrown or done away with, it is not the dissolution of society or a return to the state of nature, it’s just a new opening for establishment of a new

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