ipl-logo

Thomas Hobbes Research Paper

447 Words2 Pages

“It is not wisdom but authority that makes a law,” said Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes was an influential philosopher during the Age of Enlightenment, 1650 - 1800. John Locke was also a well-known philosopher during that time and he was opposed to Thomas Hobbes’s beliefs about human nature. Hobbes’s believed that humans were naturally greedy and selfish, while Locke believed they were reasonable and good. This topic has been debated for ages and is still debated today. I myself have to agree with Thomas Hobbes’s beliefs about human nature. Humanity’s true inner nature is selfish and greedy because humans have evolved with instincts and tendencies that are seen as self-serving. Thomas Hobbes believed that humans are naturally cruel, evil, and selfish. Hobbes also believed that without a functioning government, humans will reveal their true nature and survive by any means. Without laws that have been placed by a government, humans would be free to do whatever they pleased. However, Hobbes also believed that a government was established to control the true nature of humans. …show more content…

Locke believed that humans were fair and good, which contradicted Thomas Hobbes’s beliefs on human nature. John Locke also believed that a government should be present to control society. Locke stated that a government is morally just and was welcomed.
Proof of Thomas Hobbes’s beliefs can be clearly seen today. Of the 3,400 years of recorded human history, only 268 of those years have had no wars. There have been around thirty to forty wars this year alone. Humans naturally serve themselves and tend to push others down so they can climb

Show More
Related
1018 Words | 5 Pages

The sequences of war are substantially portrayed by David Malouf within his novel Fly Away Peter. Through the use of various literary techniques and conventions, Malouf explores and incorporates the idea of peace before war, obligations and events at war, death, and the aftermath of war. The text is written in 1914, a timeless era on the Queensland coast. This was at the time of the first outbreak of World War 1, when most young men felt obligations to defend their nation in a foreign country. In the case of the protagonist, Jim Saddler, the trenches of the Armentières is where he fought for his nation in this tale of companionship and continuity.

Read More
582 Words | 3 Pages

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is about the witch trials in ancient Salem, and how one girl’s love interest caused many people, including the one she loves, to be hanged due to being accused as a witch. Half Hanged Mary by Margaret Atwood is about Mary Webster, a woman accused of witchcraft and hanged for the crime, but managed to survive the night. In both of these texts there is evidence of a corrupted leadership. The Crucible has evidence of a corrupted leadership as found in act 4 scene 5, when the text states “Danforth: (in deep concern, raising a hand to Hathome) Pray you.

Read More
965 Words | 4 Pages

Hobbes believed that without a strong government, people experience continual fear and danger of violent death and lives that are solitary, poor, brutish, and short.” This quote is important because many people who are not ruled usually lead to destruction and mayhem. According to hobbes “appointing a diverse group of representatives to present the problems of the common people to the leviathan. These representatives would only have the power to present opinions, since all final decisions would be made by the leviathan.” i imagine that hobbes presumes that the citizens will take advantage of anyone who is seen as a “good” person, this idea can provide the people with a voice and still be able to make the right

Read More
559 Words | 3 Pages

John Locke and Thomas Hobbes were early English philosophers who each had very different views on the roles of the government and the people being governed. Their interpretations of human nature each had a lasting and vast impact on modern political science. Locke believed that men had the right to revolt against oppressive government. “‘Being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.”

Read More
1208 Words | 5 Pages

Hobbes and Locke had opposing views and interpretations of men and their state of nature. Hobbes was around during the time that an absolute monarchy was the acceptable type of government for society. This was most acceptable to Hobbes because he believed that if society would leave man in his own state of nature he would be brutish. Also he believed that a government with

Read More
1053 Words | 5 Pages

He believed people act selfishly, so they could not be trusted to make their own decisions. Hobbes said that the only purpose of a government was to protect people from their own evil and

Read More
1016 Words | 5 Pages

Thomas Hobbes wrote a famous book, The Leviathan, that explained how he thought humans were selfish and needed the government to keep order. He supported an absolute monarchy that could not be overthrown. Baron de Montesquieu said, “ Again, there is no liberty if the power of judging be not separated from the Legislative and Executive powers,” (Doc. 4). This displays how he wanted Separation of Powers, government division to keep one individual from rising to power.

Read More
789 Words | 4 Pages

Hobbes and locke were two philosophers who two different ideas on the world and human behavior as a whole. Hobbes mainly believed that without any form of government people will always be trying to fight for power. On the other hand, Locke believed everyone is born peaceful but can be corrupted by society. Hobbes and Locke both had very different views on different human nature, the purpose of government, and both had a big influence on many different countries.

Read More
898 Words | 4 Pages

John Locke believed in a democracy and expressed that humans have the ability to govern themselves. However, Hobbes believed that humans are selfish and need a single leader(king) that should govern all affairs. Post French Revolution people lived under Hobbes theory, but wanted to become a democracy.

Read More
520 Words | 3 Pages

He was born in 1588, and died 1679. Throughout his life, Hobbes believed that the only true form of government was an absolute monarchy. He argued that, forcefully would be the only way to get respect from the people. He also believed in only certain people having rights. Hobbes believed in people who were born with rights that they hand over to the monarch and get protection.

Read More
624 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More
493 Words | 2 Pages

One his theories, stated in his book called Leviathan said that people are not able rule themselves because of how selfish mankind is and they need to be ruled by an iron fist. His political theory was that was also stated in Leviathan was that we should respect government authority under all circumstances to avoid violence. Hobbes was scared of the outcome of the social contract which meant people could get rid of the government if they were unhappy with what they were getting. In order to make well with the social contract he states in Leviathan that people should be completely obedient to the government. His reasoning was that if there was no government, there would be chaos.

Read More
1441 Words | 6 Pages

When comparing the two different accounts of English philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke we must take into consideration a number of things such as the age in which they lived and the time in which they produced their philosophical writings. We will however find out that these two philosophers actually have a couple of things in which agree on even though most of their opinions clash. On one side we have Thomas Hobbes who lived in the time of the English Civil War (1642-1651) who provides a negative framework for his philosophical opinions in his masterpiece Leviathan and who advocates for philosophical absolutism . On the other side we have John Locke, living during the glorious revolution (1688-1689) he presents a positive attitude in his book The Second Treatise of Government and advocates for philosophical and biblical constitutionalism. It is important that we know that the state of nature describes a pre- political society prior to the social contract.

Read More
392 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
1084 Words | 5 Pages

Thomas Hobbes proposed that the ideal government should be an absolute monarchy as a direct result of experiencing the English Civil War, in which there was internal conflict between the parliamentarians and the royalists. Hobbes made this claim under the assumption that an absolute monarchy would produce consistent policies, reduce conflicts and lower the risk of civil wars due to the singular nature of this ruling system. On another hand, John Locke counters this proposal with the view that absolute monarchies are not legitimate as they are inconsistent with the state of nature. These two diametrically opposed views stem from Hobbes’ and Locke’s different understandings of human nature, namely with regard to power relationships, punishment, and equality in the state of nature. Hobbes’ belief that human beings are selfish and appetitive is antithetical with Locke’s contention that human beings are intrinsically moral even in the state of nature, which results in Locke’s strong disagreement with Hobbes’ proposed absolute monarchy.

Read More

More about Thomas Hobbes Research Paper

Related Topics

Open Document