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Hobbes's view of human nature
Hobbes's view of human nature
Hobbes's view of human nature
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Compare Aristotle’s claim that man is a ‘political animal’ with Hobbes’s claim that the state of nature is a state of war. How would you summarize their respective views of the relation between nature and politics? Which is the more persuasive and why?
Fundamentally, Aristotle’s and Hobbes’s principles represent two contradictory interpretations of the philosophy of human nature and why men gather and constitute government. For Aristotle, man is naturally a social and political animal, structured toward living in a community; whereas for Hobbes, it is natural for man to live for himself, and the state is an artificially created concept to prevent war. In the following essay, I will argue that Hobbes’s claim that the state of nature is a state
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This is cited in Aristotle, The Politics Book 1 Part 1, 1253a1, pg.59: “Hence it is evident that the state is a creation of nature, and that man is by nature a political animal.” This argument is somewhat logical because our skilful deployment of reason enables us to comprehend concepts such as justice and injustice, dubbing us political animals. As political animals, this higher level thinking would inevitably ensue into the creation of a political society and political rule. This is because we are naturally hierarchical (Aristotle, The Politics, Book 1 Part 2, 1252a24, pg.56). In a political society, there would naturally be a hierarchy of power, with a sovereign at the top to govern the populace. A sovereign is needed, to keep order and peace within the population; otherwise, there would be a state of chaos. If what Aristotle says is correct, that we are all political animals, then it would be logical that the establishment of political rule would naturally ensue. However, this is not the case. As discussed above, man is not a political animal but an individual only concerned with survival. On the other hand, if the concept of mastery over animals (e.g. ox plow farms) and master and slaves were established, what would be stopping mankind from creating the concept of sovereignty? Following this logic, a …show more content…
He argues that a state or commonwealth is where all men surrender their natural rights to the state in order to escape the state of nature where they live in perpetual fear for their life. I agree with this because man’s primary aims are for safety and security (Hobbes, The Leviathan, Chapter 13 part 1, pg.186). The concept of government was established as a means of protection, for which individuals were prepared to submit to a greater power.
One might argue that it is only logical that man would create a system where their rights and property are being protected. Since man’s first desire is self-preservation, wouldn’t it be in man’s best interest, and hence, a natural culmination, that governments are established to maintain a peaceful way of life? Nevertheless, politics and the government are man-made concepts. There is no authority that exists naturally in the environment as all men share natural rights to self-preservation.
As seen in the above arguments, it is clear that Hobbes’s assertion that man is in a state of war and that politics is artificial is a significantly more persuasive claim than Aristotle’s argument that man is by nature a political animal and that politics exists as a natural culmination. This conclusion is based on man’s equality in nature and their innate desires for
In what follows, I shall consider Aristotle's’ argument of the polis, or the city-state, as presented in his Politics I.2, and expound on the philosophical implications of this particular thesis; namely, a thesis which claims that the city-state exists by nature, and correspondingly, that a human being is ‘by nature a political animal’. Along the way, I shall present two objections leveled against each claim. The first pertains to the invalidity of the argument on ends; specifically, I shall protest that when a thing’s process of coming to be is completed, even if we regard this as an end, this does not necessarily confer that such an end is a natural end, for artificial processes too, like natural processes, share the potential to arrive at ends. The second pertains to the ‘part-whole’ argument, which in a sense takes from the argument of function. Here, I shall discuss that it is not quite clear whether the claim that human beings - as parts of the whole - are necessarily political animals, and so the view that the state is ‘prior by nature’ is uncertain. After that, I will present two Aristotelian responses against these objections; and judge whether or not these appear succeed. I conclude that he is correct in asserting that the city-state exists by nature, and correspondingly, that a human being is a political animal.
He believes that by transferring all rights to a sovereign, the threat of the state of nature will be diminished. A sovereign elected will be able to represent and protect everyone equally, they are not a ruler of the people, but a representative. The Leviathan differs from a principality and a republic by establishing the institution of the commonwealth through the social contract. To understand how the Leviathan differs from either a principality or a republic, one must look at the principles of each to decipher how Hobbes bears resemblance to and disagrees with Machiavelli. The Leviathan state resembles a principality by giving absolute power to one sovereign.
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke have authored two works that have had a significant impact on political philosophy. In the “Leviathan” by Hobbes and “Two Treatises of Government” by Locke, the primary focus was to analyze human nature to determine the most suitable type of government for humankind. They will have confounding results. Hobbes concluded that an unlimited sovereign is the only option, and would offer the most for the people, while for Locke such an idea was without merit. He believed that the government should be limited, ruling under the law, with divided powers, and with continued support from its citizens. With this paper I will argue that Locke had a more realistic approach to identifying the human characteristics that organize people into societies, and is effective in persuading us that a limited government is the best government.
At first reading, Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan can be an intimidating piece of academia. In spite of this, Part 2 of his work, ‘Of Commonwealth’, is still a core piece of political philosophy. Hobbes proposes that the only true functional, permanent and society is one of absolute authority. This essay is focused primarily on the identification and translation of Hobbes’ main doctrines against divided authority, versus the aforementioned unified state. This will be done by looking arguments about the initial construction of the state, the problems of giving each individual the responsibility of power, and benefits of the sovereign as a singular all-powerful figure versus alternatives.
2. Locke is a bit confused for himself about this question. Then he backs it up simply by using the results that the state of Nature brings. Locke says, “man in the state of nature is an absolute lord of his own person and possessions, though he has such a right, yet the enjoyment of it is very uncertain and constantly exposed to the invasion of others; for all being kings as much as he, every man his equal, and the greater part no strict observers of equity and justice, the enjoyment of the property he has in this state is very unsafe, very insecure.” This is the reason why man quits from such an idea and goes on finding a more compatible political society. The ability for the man to create such commonwealths that benefit everyone is a secure road for them to preserve their property, Locke explains.
In his Second Treatise of Government, Locke proposes an idealized state of nature in which men are self-sufficient and content. The implications of his idealized population lead him to derive the existence of government from its own theoretical roots: Locke proposes government as a naturally occurring consequence of his state of nature. This derivation is founded on the injustice of man in his natural state: it is the imperfections found in the state of nature that necessitate government. This paper aims to show why the inequality caused by the existence of a market economy is an intentional and necessary path from Locke’s state of nature to the existence of the commonwealth. It will first argue that unequal possession is an inevitable consequence of property as defined by Locke. It will then show why this inequality is a necessary transition out of the state of nature for mankind. It will finally argue that each man’s consent to currency, and the injustice it brings, is the foundation for the overall consent to the commonwealth. The existence of inequality is naturally introduced and maintained throughout Locke’s argument. Hobbes successfully defends that economic inequality is both a natural and crucial part of political society; both the inequality of human ability and the resulting economic inequality precede the existence of an ideal state.
According to Jean Jacques Rousseau, human beings are bestowed with the blessings of freedom during their individual genesis on this fruitful planet, but this natural freedom is immensely circumscribed as it’s exchanged for the civil liberties of the State. He indicated that the supplanting of natural freedom is necessary for the obtainment of greater power for the greater collective community, but the prospect of obtaining superlative capabilities comes with the price of constraints. Yet this notion of natural freedom conflicts with Thomas Hobbes rendition on the state of nature because he illustrates that nature, interface through savagery. According to Hobbes, mankind has endorsed and embraced natures temperament, because this system of truculency and servility that nature orbits adversely affects the nature of mankind, resulting in mankinds affinity for greed, and brutal ambition. Inspite of their conflicting perspectives on the state of nature, both support and explicate on the idea that the preservation and proliferation of mankind as a whole is best achieved through their belief, and withholding the policies of a social contract. The intention of Leviathan is to create this perfect government, which people eagerly aspires to become apart of, at the behest of individual relinquishing their born rights. This commonwealth, the aggregation of people for the purposes of preventing unrest and war, is predicated upon laws that prohibit injustice through the implementation of punishment. Essentially in the mind of both Rousseau and Hobbes, constraints are necessary for human beings to be truly free under the covenants and contracts applied to the civil state at which mankind interface through.
On the similarities and dissimilarities of the theories of human nature by Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Hobbes, there is a single common denominator that resonates throughout all of their works: in some way, shape, or form, they all attempt to outline and convey to the reader a sense of political understanding derived via a methodical approach to the interpretation of human society. Thomas Hobbes, author of The Leviathan, argues that mankind cannot be readily trusted to uphold the terms of certain covenants, and from this one can derive that Hobbes believes men to be fickle and capricious in their decisions, and that they should generally not be trusted. Hobbes also asserts that there exists a natural law that dictates that man will adhere to the policy of self-preservation above all else. These two arguments form the basis for what Hobbes refers to as the state of nature, in which the “will to contend by battle is sufficiently known” (Hobbes Ch. 13). The renowned Greek philosopher and author of Politics, Aristotle, contradicts Hobbes’s theory of human nature with his assumptions of man and the the polis. Aristotle’s belief that “man is a political animal”
In this essay, I will present three reasons as to why the absolute authority of the sovereign in Hobbes’s state of nature and social contract is justified. The three reasons Hobbes uses are: the argument from contract, the argument from authorisation and the argument from weakness of mixed or divided sovereignty. Firstly, I shall explain Hobbes’s understanding of human nature and the natural condition of humanity which causes the emergence of the social contract. I shall then analyse each argument for the absolute authority of the sovereign being justified. I shall then consider possible objections to Hobbes’s argument. I shall then show why Hobbes’s argument is successful and the absolute authority of the sovereign is justified.
Aristotle’s emphasis is on the city-state, or the political world as a natural occurrence. He says “every city-state exists by nature, since the first communities do.” (Aristotle 3). Aristotle continually reiterates the notion that the creation of a community comes from necessity; individuals aim at the highest good of all, happiness, through their own rationality, and the only way to achieve happiness is through the creation of the city-state. Aristotle follows the creation of a household and a village to the creation of the city-state in which citizens are able to come together to aim at the “good which has the most authority of all,” (Aristotle 1) happiness. In turn, this necessity for the formation of a city state comes from the idea of man as a rational being. “It is also clear why a human being is more of a political animal than a bee or any other gregarious animal… no animal has speech except for a human being.” (Aristotle 4). For Aristotle, human beings are political animals because of their ability to speak, their ability to communicate pleasures and desires, and their ability to reason. Aristotle’s state com...
Hobbes and Rousseau created a revolutionary idea of the state of nature. They did not believe government should be organized through the church, therefore abandoning the idea of the divine right theory, where power of the king came directly from God. Starting from a clean slate, with no organized church, Hobbes and Rousseau needed a construct on what to build society on. The foundation of society began with the original state of nature. Hobbes’ perception of the original state of nature is what would exist if there were no common power to execute and enforce the laws to restrain individuals. In this case, the laws of the jungle would prevail: only the fittest survive. Man’s desires are insatiable. Since resources are scarce, humankind is naturally competitive, inevitably creating jealousy and hatred, which eventually leads to war.
����������� Thomas Hobbes is an important political and social philosopher. He shares his political philosophy in his work Leviathan. Hobbes begins by describing the state of nature, which is how humans coped with one another prior to the existence of government. He explains that without government, �the weakest has the strength to kill the strongest� (Hobbes 507). People will do whatever it takes to further their own interests and protect their selves; thus, creating a constant war of �every man against every man� (Hobbes 508). His three reasons for people fighting amongst each other prior to government include �competition,� �diffidence,� and �glory� (Hobbes 508). He explains how men fight to take power over other people�s property, to protect them selves, and to achieve fame. He describes life in the state of nature as being �solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short� (Hobbes 508). Hobbes goes on to say that if men can go on to do as they please, there will always be war. To get out of this state of nature, individuals created contracts with each other and began to form a government.
The main critics of Thomas Hobbes’ work are most often those with a more optimistic view of human nature. However, if one is to really look at a man’s actions in depth, a self-serving motivation can always be found. The main problem with Hobbes’ claims is that he does not account for the more Darwinian perspective that helping one’s own species survive is at the same time a selfish and unwar-like act. Thus his conclusion that without a governing body, we are essentially at war with one another is not completely true as years of evolution can help disprove.
Hobbes’ Leviathan and Locke’s Second Treatise of Government comprise critical works in the lexicon of political science theory. Both works expound on the origins and purpose of civil society and government. Hobbes’ and Locke’s writings center on the definition of the “state of nature” and the best means by which a society develops a systemic format from this beginning. The authors hold opposing views as to how man fits into the state of nature and the means by which a government should be formed and what type of government constitutes the best. This difference arises from different conceptions about human nature and “the state of nature”, a condition in which the human race finds itself prior to uniting into civil society. Hobbes’ Leviathan goes on to propose a system of power that rests with an absolute or omnipotent sovereign, while Locke, in his Treatise, provides for a government responsible to its citizenry with limitations on the ruler’s powers.
Hobbes was a strong believer in the thought that human nature was evil. He believed that “only the unlimited power of a sovereign could contain human passions that disrupt the social order and threatened civilized life.” Hobbes believed that human nature was a force that would lead to a constant state of war if it was not controlled. In his work the Leviathan, he laid out a secular political statement in which he stated the significance of absolutism.