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Theories Of Thomas Hobbes Social Contract

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Are human beings actions drive only by rational and self-interest, or they having another motivations? Thomas Hobbes an English philosopher explains the Social contract in an easy way; an actual or hypothetical agreement among the members of a society or a community and its ruler that defines and limits the rights and duties of each. (Merriam-Webster) The essence of contractarianism is “Actions are morally right just because they are permitted by rules that free, equal, and rational people would agree to live by, on the conditions that others obey these rules as well.”, which is originated as a political theory and later is developed into a moral theory. There are 2 principal assumptions, the first that we are motivated by self-interest (ethical …show more content…

“Fear”; try to defend yourself with the use of violence, and the last “Glory” defend your honor with violence. These causes of conflict are the ones that create what Hobbes called “State of Nature”. Hobbes also explains “the fool” type of person, this people are the people that break every link with the contract because they think that make this is beneficial to them. This people lives their lives freely, and they stick to contracts are their convenience, also the fools lives more closely to the state of nature. The state of nature is a state of war of all against all, in which the life of the man becomes solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and …show more content…

This city has violence, drugs, and gangs. Everybody lives in constant fear. Li´l Zé is a gangster that is the perfect example of Hobbes “fool”, because he makes things that benefit him and he does that by any means, but on the other hand there is Rocket a novice photographer that just wants to take photos and earn money in a good way. Rocket don’t follow the same steps of his friends the drugs, he start making money like a normal people, working in the market but he get fired and don’t earn any money, then he gets another job in the local newspaper delivering the newspaper. At this point rocket is working in the newspaper but he knows the gangs that are in the streets of the Favela selling drugs, in one way he have true pictures and information of the gangs, but on the other hand he have to be very cautious about the information and the places that he takes pictures, because in the middle of the confrontation Rocket take those pictures. One day the gang of Li´l Zé ask Rocket if he could take some pictures of the gang, he accept after the photoshoot, Rocket goes to the newspaper office and ask his teammate that if he could reveal the pictures and the boss said that it’s okay, but the problem come when Marina take the photos of the gang instead of the pictures that are the correct and make the newspaper. Rocket gets

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“In 1651, Hobbes wrote one of the most influential philosophical treatises in human history, Leviathan or the Matter Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil. Like his rival, John Locke, Hobbes posited that in a state of nature men and women were free to pursue and defend their own interests, which resulted in a state of war in which “the life of man” was “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. ”(“Philosopher who influenced the Founding Fathers and the First Principles,”

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By using violence, man create a superiority over family and animals. Diffidence is for safety of the desire, defending their family or animals. Lastly, glory is for maintaining a reputation of their own opinion, things, and superiority over others. When men are against each other without leadership then they are in war, and if they are not fighting then they are in peace. Hobbes explains how detrimental society is when in war.

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The state of nature serves as a portrayal of the human being prior to the contemporary state or society, being utilized by social contract theorists to present their understanding of both human nature and the development of government. John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, two iconic seventeenth-century writers, are among many to have submitted versions of such conditions in their works, Two Treatises of Government, and Leviathan. Although there may appear to be points of similarity, their differing accounts of pre-societal man is largely responsible for their contrasting stances on the emergence of the modern state and its sources of legitimate power. Each writer provides a separate lens through which readers can investigate their understandings of

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In the condition of nature, where man is put at war against man, no security is conceivable and life is brimming with terror. In any case, two common interests empower individuals to get away from the condition of nature; Hobbes’ refers to them as trepidation and reason (pg.108). Angst makes man need to get away from the condition of nature; logic demonstrates to him a method to get away. Reason gives the laws that Hobbes creates, which constitute the establishment for peace.

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"Evil stitch to evil, stitch to evil, stitch to evil." - Dr. Frankenstein In the movie Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the ideas of Enlightenment philosophers are effectively shown. The ideas of Enlightenment philosophers such as Hobbes and Locke, shown, and clearly Renaissance is not effectively portrayed. Therefore, Enlightenment shown in the movie.

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Thomas Hobbes described that life in a state of nature would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” In addition, no one would be able to survive in an Anarchy society where there is no order and the safeguard of others is at risk. Therefore, governments require for citizens to surrender some freedom to obtain the benefits of the government. Thus, the government has preserved its two major purposes: maintaining order and providing public goods to the public and an uprising purpose of promoting equality. The main and oldest purpose of government is to maintain order by establishing laws to preserve life and protect property.

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Thomas Hobbes in his Leviathan and Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his Discourse on Inequality and Social Contract each attempt to explain the rise of and prescribe the proper management of human society. At the foundation of both philosophies is the principle that humans are asocial by nature, a precept each philosopher interprets and approaches in a different way. Hobbes states that nature made humans relatively “equal,” and that “every man is enemy to every man.” Life is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short,” he says, and “every man has right to everything.” Rousseau outlines primitive asocial man having “everything necessary for him to live in the state of nature” from “instinct alone,” and being “neither good nor evil.”

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Burke’s Criticisms of Hobbes’ Social Contract Edmund Burke, after a visit to France in 1773, wrote a pamphlet titled Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) to express his disdain for the events and methods of the French Revolution. Where other political writers of the Enlightenment and Anti-Enlightenment Eras propose theories of politics and government, Burke does not promote a theory, a set of premises, a call to action, or even a succinct conclusion. He rather details his disposition of contractual government and politic science.

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Hobbes viewed state of nature as a state of war. According to Hobbes, in a state of nature, there is no right to property because no one affords another that right. He stated that property and possessions would inevitably cause men to become enemies. Hobbes believes that people have equal physical and mental ability to harm, and that people will do so for three reasons - competition, difference, and glory. " so that in the state of nature of man, we find three principal causes of quarrel, first, competition; secondly, difference; thirdly, glory" (Hobbes 2008, p.85).

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My understanding of the Social Contract Theory is this: This theory came about during the Age of Enlightenment. I could think of some enlightenment situations at work and with the current political campaign. But social contract brings up the questions about the origin of each society and if it’s even legitimate or not. So the social contract theory basically challenges this theory and the truths behind the morals on which the individuals or the leaders stand on.

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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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Hobbes holds that “it is impossible to subjugate a man without first having placed him in the position of being unable to do without another.” Thus, the lack of organizational interdependence in primitive society prevents inequality. Similarly, the lawlessness of early society makes conflict impossible: war “can exist neither in the state of nature, where there is no stable property.”

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In Thomas Hobbes’s words, the life of man is, “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” He does not hold a high opinion of man’s ability to enjoy life or at least go through it with endurance and perseverance. On the other hand, John Locke had more confidence in human nature. He believed that morality could be approached rather like numbers: obviously and easily. Everyone would know what good meant, just as everyone would know what five or ten meant.

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Leviathan State of nature make men so equal without the government. Hobbes strongly argued that the social unity and having peace inside the civilians are the best achievement by men as he explained in his book, Leviathan. In chapter thirteen of his book, Hobbes created the best original and important about the men with their nature and living in a state of nature. Also, this kind of life drives men to behave well in their societies and to be strong or having more power than others. In general, I will explain the state of nature and chapter thirteen of Hobbes book, and it is the explanation about how the state of nature can be a state of the war, men’s experience in the state of nature, and the examples of the state of the nature in 17 century.

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