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Locke Vs Hobbes Dbq

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John Locke and Thomas Hobbes were early English philosophers who each had very different views on the roles of the government and the people being governed. Their interpretations of human nature each had a lasting and vast impact on modern political science.
Locke believed that men had the right to revolt against oppressive government. “‘Being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.” (Document 13) He thought that humans were born with natural rights and that if a government violated those rights, then the people were justified in doing whatever necessary to overthrow that government.
“Hereby it is manifest, that during the time men live without a common Power to keep them all in …show more content…

Although, their views on the type of government and the natural rights of its citizens greatly differed, especially regarding the state of nature.
The state of nature is an idea used in political philosophy that was used by Enlightenment philosophers. It’s a representation of human nature without society. Locke believed that “Men living according to reason, without a common superior on earth, to judge between them, is properly the state of nature.” (Document 13) Hobbes said in The Leviathan humans were in a “state of war,” (Document 14) and that without an absolute ruler to control the people, they wouldn’t have peace.
Many successful governments and societies have been based upon Locke’s ideal government. The United States of America was founded on the idea that men were born with unalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (Document 10) One of Locke’s primary beliefs was the people’s right to revolt against oppressive government. Some of the greatest nations rose from a revolution including the United States and France. These revolutions led to greater and stronger

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From the 16th to 18th century, countries in Europe were experiencing new ideas and reforms. Philosophers like Locke believed in social equality. They have discussed the purpose of a government and spread their ideas. Locke’s ideas led to the revolution in France, who didn’t have rights under absolute monarch’s control. After the French gained their rights, people in Haiti started to fight because they wanted to have the same rights that French gained during the reform.

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Locke had stated that when an executive act for his own benefit, and not to serve the ends of the people. He “degrades himself” and becomes “but a single private person without power,” at which point he no longer has any right to rule over the people. Locke expresses the idea of rebellion against an unjust government. By giving the idea of rebellion, he also reveals that a human’s rights have changed over the years and that a man now has inherent rights. It was because of his declaration that the statement, “give me liberty or give me death,” become popular among the American people.

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It’s been over 200 years since the original thirteen colonies of America fought their revolutionary war against Great Britain, in hopes of achieving their independence. We shall be going through a few areas of the Revolution, such as the military, social hierarchy, the role of men and women during the war, the colonists’ values of equality and their social contract response to the British government’s abuses, and we’ll compare these areas to the present day. The American Revolution started around April of 1775, when British redcoats and American militiamen exchanged gunshots in Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. However, that was only the beginning of the fighting; the reasons for the war date from years prior, when resistance from the

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Locke’s ideas from the Two Treatises of Government and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, were based upon the natural rights where power comes from the people. Both of his pieces contributed to revolutions, most importantly the American Revolution as power from monarchies was removed and democracies were created. Allowed for limited government power and all obligations were to the citizens. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding basis was on how the knowledge existence of God, certain moral truths, and laws of logic or mathematics pertained to the natural rights of

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Thomas Hobbes and John Locke showed continuity and change to their thoughts on the role of government and social contract through their writings. Social Contract was one of the most important points that were mentioned by Hobbes and Locke. Hobbes started out by stating how humans are evil in their actions.

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Thomas Hobbes was an absolute monarch. He believed that people were born with rights and that those rights had to be given up to the monarch in order to gain their protection. Locke on the other hand believed that people were born with certain rights that couldn't be taken away such as Liberty, life, and the right to own property. Although Locke's ideas are very clear and trust worthy, you can't defend the idea that people are very needy and soon become adapted. They begin to command for their wants and don't focus on their needs and begin to abuse that privilege they have.

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John Locke was a philosopher and political scientist. He had many interests and produced a number of writings that influenced future leaders. One of these leaders was Thomas Jefferson, who was involved with the aid of America and the act gaining independence from Britain. The Declaration of Independence and Locke’s views on government contain many similar aspects. These ideas includes the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (natural rights); the protection that is provided by the government for these rights; and the altering or abolishment of government if it fails to provide and protect the rights of the people.

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Thomas Hobbes’ Chapter XIII of the Leviathan, along with John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government both cover similar topics regarding enlightened thinking, government, and the states of nature and war. Hobbes stands by the idea that mankind’s state of nature is corrupt, and that they are in a constant state of war. Locke, on the other hand, believes that the state of nature is perfect, however when a man attempts to take arbitrary power over another, they then go into a state of war. Though contrary to the other, both Hobbes and Locke make powerful claims to support their ideas on nature and war.

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Both social contract philosophers defended different views about moral and political obligations of men living in the state of nature stripped of their social characters. The state of nature illustrates how human beings acted prior to entering into civil society and becoming social beings living under common legitimacy. The state of nature is to be illustrated as a hypothetical device to explain political importance in the society. Thomas Hobbes, propounded politics and morality in his concept of the state

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The Common Sense pamphlet was written by Thomas Paine he was an editor for the Pennsylvanian magazine. The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson. These two authors, Paine and Jefferson got their ideas from the Enlightenment philosophers Voltaire, Locke, Rousseau, and Montesquieu. One philosopher’s ideas that was found in both documents was Voltaire.

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However, because individuals are imperfect creatures, so then the state of nature is also imperfect. Locke recognizes that a state of war is cultivated in the state of nature when a person violates the laws of nature: the inalienable rights of another. Individuals have the rights to enforce the laws of nature against those who violate and aid those whose rights have been violated (Locke 1982: 2, 8). But only then is there violence in the state of nature, the viciousness of humanity other theorists envisioned is lost in the theories of Locke and Rousseau. In fact, Rousseau explicitly criticizes the other theorists for not going far enough in their explanations.

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John Locke and Baron de Montesquieu were political philosophers that debated the question of who was best fit to control the government. Locke and Montesquieu shared similar political beliefs such as natural rights and the separation of government powers. However, both philosophers did, in fact, have their personal views that helped them accomplish important achievements. John Locke published “Two Treatises of Government” and “ An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” which present a detail philosophy of the mind and thought. Locke’s “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” lays out his philosophical project.

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Locke believed that humans were fair and good, which contradicted Thomas Hobbes’s beliefs on human nature. John Locke also believed that a government should be present to control society. Locke stated that a government is morally just and was welcomed. Proof of Thomas Hobbes’s beliefs can be clearly seen today.

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In the state of nature man is in his natural form with no laws or rules dictating how one must live his or her life. In his book Leviathan (1651), philosopher Thomas Hobbes describes the state of nature as a chaotic state of warre in which we are in constant fear of being attacked, “and the life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish and short” (Leviathan 186)1. According to Hobbes, a government is absolutely crucial in ensuring that mankind does not descend into war. The reason Hobbes thought this was due to his belief that humans are inherently selfish and greedy and thus in a constant search for ways to quench their desires, Hobbes calls this ‘felicity’. The only way out of this state of war is by agreeing to a social contract in which people give up some of their natural rights in return for

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Thomas Hobbes proposed that the ideal government should be an absolute monarchy as a direct result of experiencing the English Civil War, in which there was internal conflict between the parliamentarians and the royalists. Hobbes made this claim under the assumption that an absolute monarchy would produce consistent policies, reduce conflicts and lower the risk of civil wars due to the singular nature of this ruling system. On another hand, John Locke counters this proposal with the view that absolute monarchies are not legitimate as they are inconsistent with the state of nature. These two diametrically opposed views stem from Hobbes’ and Locke’s different understandings of human nature, namely with regard to power relationships, punishment, and equality in the state of nature. Hobbes’ belief that human beings are selfish and appetitive is antithetical with Locke’s contention that human beings are intrinsically moral even in the state of nature, which results in Locke’s strong disagreement with Hobbes’ proposed absolute monarchy.

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