Thomas Hobbes: Moral And Political Philosophy

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Thomas Hobbes: Moral and Political Philosophy (1588-1679) Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher in the seventeenth century. He was a politically influential philosopher with a variety of interests. He supported a range of materialist, nominalist, and empiricist views. Materialism is an idea that everything is made up of matter or dependent upon matter for existence in nature. Materialism tends to reject the existence of a spirit or anything of nonphysical form by Wolff, 2011. There are at least two kinds of Nominalism, one that maintains that there are no universals and one that maintains that there are no abstract objects by Rodriguez-Pereyra, Hobbes believes that only universal things are names. Empiricism is the theory that all human …show more content…

Hobbes calls the government an organism, showing how each part of the government functions similarly to parts of a human body. At this point in Leviathan, Hobbes describes his views on human nature. He described human nature using a metaphoric approach. He believes that all human acts are ultimately selfish. Regardless if the acts appear to be good deeds. There is always some type of personal gain or ulterior motive. According to Hobbes, without any form of government to mediate, it is human nature to act self-serving way. He believes that all humans are psychologically and physically equal. Humans are naturally susceptible to fight each other because of the equality. Where one lacks in strength, they make up for it with wisdom and vice …show more content…

To an extent government is in place to protect the people. In reality, the government are people with the same self-centered body with unlimited powers. The government can also be influenced by its own selfishness. The United States is a fine example that democracy is effective. Also, Hobbes work in Leviathan doesn’t offer a state of physiology and phycology during his time period. All of Hobbes’ views are limited and biased based on his own perspective. His works are centered on solving the problems of political

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