4) What does Meng tzu mean by “a heart sensitive to the suffering of others?” Why does he claim that this defines our humanity, and why does it need to be developed if we are to be ethical or truly humane? What are the other three “seeds” which make up the “sensitive heart,” and how do they become developed? Why is the development of each a necessary part of humaneness?…
How does Hobbes’s view of nature shape his political theory? Political theories make suppositions about nature and/or natural laws. These boundaries (including the behaviors of the people within it) shape actions and decision-making, and the rules of nature thusly form the foundation of the ideology. It is prudent to analyze in-depth this basis for the moral and political philosophy of the great thinkers. The assumptions must make sense if the overall theory of thought built upon this foundation is to hold up.…
‘In the social sciences, the most general concept of power links it to the ability to achieve a desired outcome’ (Heywood 2004). Power is a heavily contested concept amongst humans and has always been present within political thought throughout all eras. It is, in most cases, outlined as the capability to impose authority upon both individuals, and the masses within a state or territorial region, in order to control or influence decisions and their effects. This essay will discuss the similarities in the analysis of political power between two key philosophers from the 16th and 17th century who are thought to have founded features of modern-day political science. Both Niccolo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes specialised in theorising the idea…
Hobbes and Rousseau both discuss the state of nature. The state of nature consists of no structural society including: no government, no laws, and the absence of religious institutions. Hobbes describes man in the state of nature as, “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and…
In 2017, three and a half centuries after the publication of Leviathan, Second Treatise of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration, prominent philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke held a holographic philosophical debate during the Global Government Convention. The debate focused on the conflicting views of both philosophers in the areas of State of Nature, Human Nature, and Social Construct. Thomas Hobbes, also regarded as a founder of modern political philosophy, published Leviathan in 1651. John Locke, often referred to as an Empiricist and the Father of Liberalism, published Second Treatise of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration in 1689. The historical context of both publications severely influenced the philosophers’…
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…
Leviathan is divided into four specific books “Of Man”, “Of Common-Wealth”, “Of A Christian Common-Wealth”, and “Of the Kingdome of Darknesse”. Book I focuses on the philosophical framework for the entire text, while the following and remaining books elaborate the arguments presented in the 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…
The competing accounts of the state of nature given by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are extremely contrasting, but both provide persuasive arguments for the transition to the state. In this essay I will compare and contrast the Hobbesian State of Nature and Lockean State of Nature, however, I argue that Locke’s account is preferred as it provides greater security for its inhabitants. Part 1 The State of Nature, as Professor Lynne Fox describes it is, “A hypothetical account of what life would be like in a “natural state” with no government and no laws” (Hobbes PP) which provides an assessment to the sources, purposes, and limits of government authority.…
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 and compassionate as described in his opening line, “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.”…
Most people take for granted many things we are afforded in this day and age. One of those things we take for granted is the government. Without said government there would be no laws to provide order and security, and we would be in a state of nature that would result in a state of war. A state of nature, regardless of who is detailing its differences, is basically a life without government rule leaving people to act out of self-preservation. A place without government is a place of chaos with everyone acting of their own accord.…
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 all equal ability and hope in attaining their ends. Given the scarcity of resources, from this equality of endowments men inevitably are led to compete against each other.…
Life in the State of Nature was describes by Hobbes as being ‘solitary’, ‘poor’, ‘nasty’, ‘brutish’, and ‘short’. Hobbes also believed humans have a natural desire for security and order. And in order to secure self-protection and to avoid misery and pain, societies began entering into contracts. These ideas of self-defense are inherent to human nature and in order to achieve this people would voluntarily surrender their rights and freedoms to a Leviathan via contract who would command obedience. This led…
“He accomplished this by depicting the state of nature in horrible terms as a war of all against all, in which life is ‘solitary poor, nasty, brutish short’” (Leviathan, Chapter 13). Hobbes argues that, in order to get rid of the injustice, people had to give their full consent by giving up all their rights to the government so that the government can have full rights over the state of nature. It was set up to make people believe you are doing what is better to keep you in power. The beginning of state of nature meaning war.…
Therefore, it is necessary to leave the state of nature once established the foundation of human life, that is, there's only independent individuals, it is necessary to build a consistent political society with such budgets. To make this work, Hobbes uses the concept of state of nature. He claims the existence of state of nature that are actually laws to achieve peace. natural law contained very basic and obvious moral precepts, of which no one doubted obligation. Instead, Hobbes conceives rather as technical rules that serve to an end, but not oblige because an obligation has to have some unconditioned…
Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau all agree on the hypothetical starting point of the state of nature, but they disagree on the details. Both Hobbes and Locke agree that the state of nature is associated with the state of war, while Rousseau believes that man is perfectly stable and non-violent. In order to understand the connection between human nature and war, we have to analyze each philosopher 's point of view. In Hobbes ' work, The Leviathan, he emphasizes that nothing could be worse than a life without protection provided from a well-functioning state.…