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Socrates Vs Hobbes

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Jasleen Samra Political theory essay Socrates and Hobbes are both world-renowned philosophers. Socrates was famous for his questions, especially of those in power. Hobbes was a very different philosopher; he believed that people were inherently bad and needed a sovereign to control them and allow them to persevere. From these brief explanations, it is clear that the two differed greatly. For example, Socrates did not believe, as Hobbes did, that the laws of nature were attained by putting a sovereign in place, but rather by having laws that the people obey and having a commitment to these laws. Furthermore, Hobbes believed that self-preservation was only possible by having an unwavering commitment to the sovereign and giving him absolute power. …show more content…

Part of this shared view is the idea of following through on promises. Hobbes calls this the third Law of Nature, and summarizes it by saying, “men [must] perform their covenants made, without which covenants are in vain” (89). Hobbes goes on to say that breaking a covenant is injustice to the community (89). Hobbes, in this claim, correlates injustice to the state of war. In Hobbes’ theory, self-preservation is unattainable in the state of war because there is no one to enforce peace, making it impossible to preserve oneself. Socrates says something similar in Crito, when he deduces that agreements with others must be fulfilled. Socrates says that the laws, if they could speak to him, would ask him, “You are attempting to destroy us, the laws, and indeed the whole city [by running away]?” (50). Here, Socrates demonstrates his support for the concept of indivisibility and respect for the law. Socrates essentially argues that having been raised in Athens and under Athenian law, he owes his devotion and respect to the city-state and its laws. Hobbes also supports this notion in a similar way, saying that if a member of the society voluntarily joins the congregation then they must obey the laws put in place by the sovereign (112). In these arguments, Socrates and Hobbes both show their belief that if there is no respect for the law, there can be no peace, and without peace there is no self-preservation or sense of

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While his friend Crito advocates for his escape, Socrates believes that disobeying the law would be morally wrong and undermine the state's authority and laws. As Socrates asserts, "Do you think it possible for a city to continue in existence and not be turned upside down if the legal judgments pronounced in it have no force but are nullified and destroyed by private individuals?" Socrates believes that by living in Athens and enjoying its benefits, he has entered into a social contract that obligates him to follow the city's laws, even if they are unjust. Socrates believed that fleeing prison or disobeying the law violated his principles and society's social contract. He believed breaching the law would harm society and weaken the state because the state's goal was to promote the common good, and laws protected everyone's interests.

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Hobbes believed that “it is not possible for people to have both freedom and peace, since the state of freedom is a state of unlimited greed and war.” (Document C). i believe that hobbes is right about how there are many selfish people and if it came down to you or them, who would you choose? It is most likely that one chooses to save themselves because at a certain time it comes down to survival. Hobbes thought that we should have a ruler such as a king or queen because “democracy- allowing citizens to vote for government leaders- would never work.

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Hobbes’s opinions about politics and government were far different from fellow English philosopher John Locke’s in his document Second Treatise of Government published in 1689. Locke existed during a much later period in Europe, when the Wars of Religion was over and England had established the Glorious Revolution Agreement between Dutch nobility, William and Mary, and Parliament. Due to the different time periods in which Hobbes and Locke lived, their experiences had a major effect on their opinions about government. Hobbes’ Leviathan and Locke’s Second Treatise of Government had different opinions regarding a man’s state of nature and social contract.

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Following the barbarity of the war, Hobbes and Locke developed opposing views on human nature. And while they both agreed on the existence of a social contract, they disagreed on what this contract entailed. As a consequence, they advocated for drastically different types of government, raising the question as to which theory of human nature and proper governance is better suited for the real world. While both theories each have merit, in this essay I will demonstrate that

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Of Mice and Men, a story of friendship between to migrant farmers. Now when you here this you don't really think anything of this, but during this time migrant farmers didn't have friends it was just them no one else. Then you meet George and Lennie the two who break this stereotype of migrant farmers not having friends. In the book George and Lennie have ran away from their old job because of Lennie's mistakes, causing them to have to go find a new job.

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Hobbes believed that natural state of humans was violent and therefore needed order and control to ensure a just and equal society (Robinson 2016, 4). However Hobbes believed that a sovereign could maintain power without deceit and manipulation. Hobbes believed in the social contract which is when people could have a moral understanding about right and wrong to avoid the chaotic violent human nature. Hobbes believed in the idea of utilitarianism which would “maximize the most good and minimize the pain” (Robinson 201, 4). This would ensure that the sovereign was doing things for the right reasons and not to better himself but to better society as a

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According to Hobbes, a sovereign, whether the sovereign was placed into power by violence or force, is the only way to secure law and order. For him, if a citizen obeys the sovereign for fear of punishment or in the fear of the state of nature, it is the choice of the citizen. According to Hobbes, this is not tyranny; it is his idea of a society that is successful, one that does not have room for democracy. As a realist, Hobbes has a fierce distrust of democracy and viewed all of mankind in a restless desire for power. If the people are given power, law and order would crumble in Hobbes’ eyes.

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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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In Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes writes about the laws of nature and man’s liberty. Hobbes states that when an individual thinks that peace and self-defense require it, and other people are also willing than he should be willing too. As our natural rights give every man to maintain his right and do whatever they like. But if others don’t lay down then that individual should not follow the law as well because it’s not fair to themselves (p. 60). Hobbes statement will make Socrates dissatisfied because he is more about obeying the laws no matter what.

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The American University in Cairo Philosophical Thinking Law vs Morality Ahmed El - Omla Dr. Jason Blum November 16th, 2015 According to Socrates, it would never be justified to break the law, Socrates believed in the idea that if you live in a place you should abide by its laws. Socrates would say that those who created the laws have a better understanding of what is right and wrong.

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People hold a natural desire for liberty and dominion over other individuals. Specifically, humankind wants the power of doing according to their choice; while being in control of others to avoid the possibility of others determining their livelihood because Hobbes believes humankind falls into the tendency of carrying inherent distrust of others. Thus, covenants are created to implement the desire of liberty and dominion over other into actuality. The covenants want people to desire the same things freely, but for the community to work, it must be in the context in which the people share similar desires to create a community interest. However, the covenants must enable a mutual restriction of freedom among the people in hopes to maintain peace.

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Summary Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) theory of social contract, which states that we need moral, legal rules because we want to escape the state of nature which is solitary, poor, brutal, nasty, and short. In this state, a man can kill others, and there are limited resources. This can soon lead to a state of war in which we are constantly disposed to harm others to achieve our goals. So, in this state of war if a person was to possess a beautiful house or property, and had all the comforts, luxuries, and amenities to lead a wonderful life; others could come and harm him and deprive him of his fruit of labor, life, and liberty. Therefore, the state of nature is that of fear, violence, and distrust.

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While Hobbes also states that the human nature does not allow for the people to live in peace and to pursue common goals since “here are very many that think themselves wiser and abler to govern the public better than the rest” (Hobbes 3). respectively, there always exists the notion of competition, and if there is no possibility to reach consensus over the issue, there is the need for establishing an authority. This is the reflection of the social contract idea in the work by Hobbes as far as the author is concerned that only through common action and goals the society is able to function without problems and conflicts. Nevertheless, even though, in contrast to Machiavelli, Hobbes suggests the way of getting power that is based on agreement rather than on power and intellectual games, their ideas regarding the need for a strong ruler who would be able to establish the order in the society is rather similar, even though in one case this task is taken by a person himself and in the other case delivered by the

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The individuals eventually realise the futility of living in the state of nature and inevitably attempt to organise a society in which the sovereign, in order to secure peace and safe living, has absolute powers. Even if the sovereign, to maintain the welfare of people and their safety, sometimes requires various restrictions of their civil liberties, the individuals know that without being assured a safe and prosperous living they might not be able to experience those liberties at all. Here Hobbes idea of an absolute power emerges to be logical. Nonetheless, as Van Mill stated in his article frequently cited in this essay: “political power is necessary but because of this it is also necessarily dangerous”

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The secondary literature on Hobbes's moral and political philosophy (not to speak of his entire body of work) is vast, appearing across many disciplines and in many languages. There are two major aspects to Hobbes's picture of human nature. As we have seen, and will explore below, what motivates human beings to act is extremely important to Hobbes. The other aspect concerns human powers of judgment and reasoning, about which Hobbes tends to be extremely skeptical. Like many philosophers before him, Hobbes wants to present a more solid and certain account of human morality than is contained in everyday beliefs.

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