Thomas Hobbes Leviathan

As one examines several key themes within Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan, one should note several sophisticated points within the text (Hobbes 56-65). An especially ample point lies in Hobbes’s expansion on the inability of mankind to recognize the flaws in regard to their own views on sense and wisdom (Hobbes 56). While one should not completely discount the keen points contained therein, one should be critical of the sense that left in their natural arrangement, humans are careening toward a kind of war or conflict of another kind (Hobbes 57-9). More importantly, one should question the sense that there is something wrong with such conflict, as instances of such events have often produced stable outcomes, albeit for the dominant overseers. In a very real sense, humankind has been able advance in a variety of manners from organized conflict. These outcomes would likely not be possible without the kind of domination that is found in a powerful and all encompassing overseer. This is true of not only various excursions and wars, but also of coups d’état. In the latter sense, a reigning party has often taken hold as supreme authority while simultaneously imposing especially stringent laws. At any rate, this chokehold on authority is not unlike the one Hobbes may want individuals to submit to anyway (Hobbes

However, there are certainly instances to be found in which humans protest this kind of desire or urge, whether it is of an innate source or otherwise. This is also true of the themes of glory, competition, and distrust mentioned by Hobbes (Hobbes 56-58). Instances can be found where against what some would deem wiser judgment; individuals have made the choice to go against these themes altogether. Because we can find such instances, it is fair for one to infer that individuals can, and perhaps frequently do, avoid problems of this