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