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Comparing Thomas Hobbes's Moral And Political Philosophy

1251 Words6 Pages

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. Plato had contrasted knowledge with opinion. Hobbes contrasts science with a whole raft of less reliable forms of belief - from probable inference based on experience, right down to "absurdity, to which no living creature is subject but man" (Leviathan, v.7).

What is the political fate of this rather pathetic sounding creature - that is, of us? Unsurprisingly, Hobbes thinks little happiness can be expected of our lives together. The best we can hope for is peaceful life under an authoritarian-sounding …show more content…

For Hobbes, dividing capacities to judge between different bodies is tantamount to letting the state of nature straight back in. "For what is it to divide the power of a commonwealth, but to dissolve it; for powers divided mutually destroy each other." (Leviathan, xxix.12; cf De Cive, xii.5) Beyond the example of England in the 1640s, Hobbes hardly bothers to argue the point, although it is crucial to his entire theory. Always in his mind is the Civil War that arose when Parliament claimed the right to judge rules of taxation, and thereby prevented the King from ruling and making war as he saw fit, and when churches and religious sects claimed prerogatives that went against the King's

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Locke Vs Thomas Hobbes Dbq

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

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Articles Of Confederation Dbq

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There is no government, no authority whatsoever. Every being is born equal and share the right to do anything for their survival. His political theory was based off his idea that all humans are naturally evil and selfish. Hobbes said that this equality leads to war. “...a war of every man against every man.”

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Hobbes Natural Power

1602 Words | 7 Pages

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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Machiavelli Vs Hobbes Research Paper

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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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Hobbes Vs Rawls Analysis

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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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Are Hobbes Locke Inherently Good Or Evil

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Hobbes thought that we are inherently bad and therefore we need an authoritative body to keep order in society,

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Thomas Hobbes Influence On Thomas Jefferson's Declaration Of Enlightenment

493 Words | 2 Pages

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Compare And Contrast Thomas Hobbes And John Locke

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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.

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Locke Vs Thomas Hobbes State Of Nature Essay

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COMPARISON BETWEEN TO THOMAS HOPPES AND JOHN LOCKE VIEWS ON STATE OF NATURE Introduction Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and John Locke (1632-1704) were both political philosophers. They are mainly known for their master pieces on political philosophy. I.e. Hobbes' Leviathan and Locke's Two Treatise of Government. Each of them has different views and perspective of the State of Nature and Social Contract.

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Absolute Authority In Thomas Hobbes Leviathan

750 Words | 3 Pages

Hence, if every private individual was to be his own judge of what is good and evil, debates and disputes would arise concerning what the sovereign has decreed regarding actions in the prior regards. The commonwealth would thus be distracted and weakened by everyone’s own personal judgement of whether the sovereign is right or wrong, and whether to obey the laws or not. Thirdly, Hobbes contends that if the individuals in the commonwealth hold the mistaken belief that one’s individual conscience (morality) should always take precedence over civil duty, thus by being their own moral judge of what is good and evil in their sense, could prove the sovereign to ruin. He claims that our conscience and judgment is the same thing, thus if our judgments were impaired so too can our conscience be incorrect in what we establish for ourselves.

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What Is Thomas Hobbes Argument Of Morality?

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Thomas Hobbes, through a dark view on human psychology, was undoubtedly ahead of his time with his novel ideas. Hobbes saw that moral obligation relied on consent through a covenant and the authority of the sovereign rather that God, a radical view of the time. Instead of God directly providing moral principles, Hobbes argues that, since the laws of nature are God’s commands, that we ought to seek peace through the obedience to the sovereign, resulting in his Leviathan figure as a quasi-god. Whilst straying away from the traditional religious focus on morality Hobbes’ argument is still flawed, which is evident by analysing his view on the significance of consent and fear of death as a necessary moral motivation.

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Thomas Hobbes Leviathan Essay

715 Words | 3 Pages

We chose these chapter as it offers his most direct discussion of religion and the sovereign power. Hobbes 's own views of religion are the subject, to some degree, of scholarly debate. He was strongly opposed to scholasticism and Roman Catholicism and trended toward materialism and rationalism in his overall philosophy. Nevertheless, he does argue that his form of political absolutism is well-suited to Christianity, even though many have

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How Did Thomas Hobbes Influence American Government

1212 Words | 5 Pages

The age of enlightenment was a philosophical peak in history that set a course for the rest of time. Many different ideas were brought about that shaped the way we live to this day, especially here in the states. Two philosophers in particular affected the United States of America; Thomas Hobbes and Tom Locke. Both of these philosophers pasts formed their philosophy and the ideas they had, which affected the government of their time, and our government today. Hobbes and Locke had very different upbringings and backgrounds, which led them to having very different points of view on life.

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1740 Words | 7 Pages

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Thomas Hobbes Absolute Monarchy

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.

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