Thomas Hobbes Leviathan

Throughout Thomas Hobbe’s work, Leviathan, he discusses causes and resolutions of human conflict and the ways in which he believes a society should be controlled and operated. Hobbe’s wrote Leviathan in the year 1651, after the English Civil War. This historical event led Hobbes to argue that in order for a society to function to the best of its ability and to avoid further conflict, a central authority must be in control.
Hobbes begins by describing what a place is like without a central government. All men, he says, are essentially created equal by nature and differences in how strong or weak a person is, should not even be considered. Even if one man is stronger than another, the weaker man has enough strength to kill the stronger man through the power of his mind and the help of others. He argues that in the mind, men are more equal than they are unequal, further proving his point that strong versus weak doesn’t matter. The issue with men all being seen as

The first cause is competition. Men use competition as a way to gain someone or something. They use violence to achieve this gain and to make themselves in charge of other men’s wives and families. The second cause is diffidence. Diffidence is doing something in “modesty or shyness resulting from a lack of self-confidence.” (dictionary.com). Men use this for safety and a way to defend themselves and their families. Lastly, the third cause of disagreement between men is glory. Men use glory as a way to make a reputation for themselves. Because of all these causes of disagreement, Hobbe’s argues that when men live without a common power, such a government and main authority figure, they are in a condition called “Warre”. “Warre” is a condition where every man is against every other man. Clearly this is a problem when all men are seen as equal and in constant disagreements with one