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Thomas Hobbes on State of Nature in short note
Thomas Hobbes on State of Nature in short note
Thomas Hobbes' assertion of the state of nature
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Philosopher Thomas Hobbes had a specific opinion of the topic, state of nature. He knew no good came from people when in a wild state, and that government meant stability. Jack clearly represents that theme is the book, “The Lord of the Flies”. Once people were introduced into a state of nature, there would be fights and war, as well as the strong vs. weak battle. While Many other characters could represent Hobbes’ theory of government and state of nature, the boy that most represents Hobbes is Jack from Goulding book, “The Lord of the Flies,” because Jack understood in his own way how he must act with force and war to enforce a government.
Hobbes first believed that a state of nature is a state of war. Jack was one of the main reasons
William Golding’s novel ‘The Lord of The Flies’ tells the story of a group of English boys isolated on a desert island, left to attempt to retain civilisation. In the novel, Golding shows one of the boys, Jack, to change significantly. At the beginning of the book, Jack’s character desires power and although he does not immediately get it, he retains the values of civilized behaviour. However, as the story proceeds, his character becomes more savage, leaving behind the values of society. Jack uses fear of the beast to control the other boys and he changes to become the book’s representation of savagery, violence and domination. He is first taken over with an obsession to hunt, which leads to a change in his physical appearance This change of character is significant as he leads the other boys into savagery, representing Golding’s views of there being a bad and unforgiving nature to every human.
Jack Merridew is the devil-like figure in the story, Lord of the Flies. Jack is wicked in nature having no feelings for any living creature. His appearance and behavior intimidates the others from their first encounter. The leading savage, Jack leans more towards hunting and killing and is the main reason behind the splitting of the boys. It has been said that Jack represents the evilness of human nature; but in the end, Jack is almost a hero. With his totalitarian leadership, he was able to organize the group of boys into a useful and productive society
Without government, society degenerates and people lose their capacity for moral behaviour. Survivors in Haiti say that if other countries had not provided aid and restored order, there would be much more violence and everyone would only serve themselves. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the author uses the events on the island to demonstrate that people require government to restrain their impulses. The creation of a democratic government with Ralph as chief allows the inhabitants of the island to make decisions together and take everyone’s viewpoint into consideration. Soon, however, the democracy begins to be disregarded. When Jack creates a dictatorship, he fails to restrain the impulsive behaviour of the boys, which demonstrates the superiority of Ralph’s government.
In his novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding describes Jack as someone who promotes unity, someone who is skilled at manipulating people, and someone who idolizes violent actions. Jack has a lot in common with the World War II German dictator, Adolf Hitler, who had also demonstrated desires for unity, the manipulation of others and increased violence. All these similarities between them led to them destroying their society.
Throughout William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies there is an ever-present conflict between two characters. Ralph's character combines common sense with a strong desire for civilized life. Jack, however, is an antagonist with savage instincts, which he cannot control. Ralph's goals to achieve a team unit with organization are destroyed by Jack's actions and words that are openly displayed to the boys. The two leaders try to convince the boys that their way of survival is correct.
that the man or men who use their array of powers to the best of their
Thomas Hobbes begins Leviathan with Book 1: Of Man, in which he builds, layer by layer, a foundation for his eventual argument that the “natural condition” of man, or one without sovereign control, is one of continuous war, violence, death, and fear.
Ralph and Jack are both powerful and meaningful characters in William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies. Ralph is an excellent leader; responsible, and stands for all that is good. Jack is a destructive hunter, selfish, and represents evil. These two main characters can be compared by the actions they take as leaders, their personalities, and what they symbolize in the story.
One example of this is when Jack is arguing with Piggy and Ralph Jack says “You’re talking too much,” said Jack Merridew. “Shut up, Fatty” (Golding 20). This is an example of Jack acting in a Thomas Hobbes philosophy sort of way. Thomas Hobbes believed that should leader should be very powerful and forceful. Another example of jack acting like Hobbes view of government is he was going to speak out when the children needed a leader. He would have become the leader, however, Rodger spoke up and proposed the idea that the children should have a vote. Another example of jack acting like Thomas Hobbes is when Jack lets the fire go out. Jack is then called out on it by piggy and Jack “took a step and able at last to hit someone, stuck his fist into piggy’s stomach. Piggy sat down with a grunt” (Golding 71). This is another example of Jack acting in a Thomas Hobbes philosophy because he uses force to represent his
The constant state of war is what Hobbes believes to be man’s original state of nature. According to Hobbes, man cannot be trusted in the state of nature. War among men is consequent and nothing can be unjust. Notions of justice and injustice or right and wrong will not hav...
����������� 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.
Hobbes believes that all men are equal insofar as that the weakest man has the power to kill the strongest man. Thus given that every man is vulnerable to any other man, all men have a very strong desire to escape the state where killing each other is acceptable, escape the state of nature. This can be done, simply put by endeavoring peace which coupled with not making war except to defend oneself, is the first law of nature (Leviathan 1, 14).
Hobbes believed that human beings naturally desire the power to live well and that they will never be satisfied with the power they have without acquiring more power. After this, he believes, there usually succeeds a new desire such as fame and glory, ease and sensual pleasure or admiration from others. He also believed that all people are created equally. That everyone is equally capable of killing each other because although one man may be stronger than another, the weaker may be compensated for by his intellect or some other individual aspect. Hobbes believed that the nature of humanity leads people to seek power. He said that when two or more people want the same thing, they become enemies and attempt to destroy each other. He called this time when men oppose each other war. He said that there were three basic causes for war, competition, distrust and glory. In each of these cases, men use violence to invade their enemies territory either for their personal gain, their safety or for glory. He said that without a common power to unite the people, they would be in a war of every man against every man as long as the will to fight is known. He believed that this state of war was the natural state of human beings and that harmony among human beings is artificial because it is based on an agreement. If a group of people had something in common such as a common interest or a common goal, they would not be at war and united they would be more powerful against those who would seek to destroy them. One thing he noted that was consistent in all men was their interest in self-preservation.
Different schools of thought have generated arguments since the beginning of civilization. They represent different perspectives of every part of life, whether its religion or politics. The realist school and the humanist perspectives offer people different views in many different aspects.