ipl-logo

Of Man By Thomas Hobbes Summary

463 Words2 Pages

In Thomas Hobbes’s “Of Man”, excerpt from Leviathan, Hobbes states that all men are fundamentally equal physically and mentally, even though some are stronger or smarter than others. He says that although there may be difference in intelligence or strength, everyone has the equal sense of hope and desire. However, he states that this equality of hope and desire leads to three principal causes of “war”. As a result, Thomas Hobbes discusses the importance of why mankind needs a common power to prevent war between men. Thomas Hobbes believes that though men are fundamentally equal, they will not achieve full equality leading to constant war. He defines “war” as not just physical confrontation, but also the inclination of wanting to join the battle. For Hobbes, the three basic causes of conflict are competition, diffidence, and glory. He explained that competition make men conquer, or invade, to gain; the second distrust, for safety; and glory to keep their reputation. Hobbes explains that man will always be in a state of “war” because there is no “common power” to keep them at balance. …show more content…

He explains that to some, this idea that the state nature dissociates and encourages men to invade and destroy one another, rather than bringing them together and cooperate into a community, is absurd and is not how human nature is. However, the author exposes the hypocrisies of the state of nature of man by explaining how people who do not believe that the state of nature dissociates, show in their actions and the precautions taken by oneself and other people that they unconsciously believe that the state of nature is what as Hobbes

More about Of Man By Thomas Hobbes Summary

    Open Document