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Views of thomas hobbes
Thomas Hobbes and his contributions
Views of thomas hobbes
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Civilization versus savagery is a recurring theme that transcends the boundaries of time. Thomas Hobbes is an avid philosopher who thoroughly addresses this theme with theories that intertwine philosophy and politics. Therefore, due to his incredible works amid these two areas of study (i.e Levithan), if I was granted the opportunity and honour of meeting either Francis Bacon, Rene Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, or John Locke I would without hesitation choose Thomas Hobbes. Admittedly, all of the philosophers stated above have made significant contributions to this field through their various areas of study; however, I personally believe that the work of Thomas Hobbes has made a direct impact on today’s society. This is exemplified in our justice system by the phrase “peace, order and good government” written in Canada’s first constitution. Also, the work of Hobbes is expressed through the fact that our society contains laws that most of its individuals freely adhere to to achieve a peaceful society (e.g laws against murder, theft, trespassing). Likewise, I believe that his works have altered the course of our lives and in their …show more content…
Hobbes I would inquire as to why he believes humans are innately destructive and lawless. I often pondered this question when I read William Golding's Lord of the Flies and by only recently discovering that Thomas Hobbes shares the same view as Goulding, I wonder how they both came to this conclusion. Another reason I would like Hobbes to disclose the reasoning behind his view of humans being innately evil is that it serves as the basis for his theory. To explain, if he came to this conclusion through inaccurate facts or insufficient data then the foundation on which his theory was built is faulty thus proving the entirety of his theory to be inaccurate. Therefore, in this circumstance humans would be instead be inherently good which would deem laws unnecessary and they could become
Society The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is about a group of boys that were in a plane crash in the 1940’s during a nuclear War. The plane is shot down and lands on a tropical island. Some boys try to function as a whole group, but see obstacles as time goes on. The novel is about civilization and social order.
Throughout the novel several different characters are introduced to the reader, such as Ralph, Jack, Simon and Piggy. With all these characters presented to the reader, one can get to see into their minds-eye, which allows the reader to analyze their character. In this case one could examine their basic morals and distinguish between the person’s natural instinct to rely on civilization or savagery to solve their problems. The author of the novel, William Golding, had a “first-hand experience of battle line action during World War II” which caused him to realize, “[that] The war alone was not what appalled him, but what he had learnt of the natural - and original- sinfulness of mankind did. It was the evil seen daily as commonplace and repeated by events it was possible to read in any newspaper which, he asserted, were the matter of Lord of the Flies” (Foster, 7-10). This being said by Golding leads one to the central problem in the novel the Lord of the Flies, which can be regarded as the distinction between civility and savagery. This can be seen through the characters that are presented in the novel, and how these boys go from a disciplined lifestyle, to now having to adapt to an unstructured and barbaric one in the jungle.
Lord of flies is about a group of schoolboys, who got stuck on uninhabited island after a plane crash. On island they struggle with savagery and civilazation while they are waiting to be rescued. William Golding gives the examples of elements what makes society ‘civilized’ which contains rules, laws and morality. He shows the consequences of what happens if we don’t follow the rules which he lead to savagery in his book. This civilazation in book also can be a metaphor for a government, its creation.
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are two political philosophers who are famous for their theories about the formation of the society and discussing man in his natural state. Their theories are both psychologically insightful, but in nature, they are drastically different. Although they lived in the same timeframe, their ideas were derived from different events happening during this time. Hobbes drew his ideas on man from observation, during a time of civil strife in Europe during the 1640's and 1650's.
The author, William Golding uses the main characters of Ralph, Jack, and Simon in The Lord of the Flies to portray how their desire for leadership, combined with lack of compromise leads to the fall of their society. This desire for leadership and compromise led to the fall of their society just like multiple countries during times of wars.
The Leviathan caused a lot of commotion to the people of Europe. This one document made Thomas Hobbes famous but it also made him hated by majority of the people. Creating a society ruled by the Leviathan was his major idea. Thomas Hobbes was very persuasive with his arguments and his life story about fear definitely explains why society and the government are a major concern for him.
Self-preservation is an important factor in shaping the ideologies of Hobbes and Locke as it ties in to scarcity of resources and how each of them view man’s sate of nature. Hobbes and Locke both believe in self-preservation but how each of them get there is very different. Hobbes believes that man’s state of nature is a constant state of war because of his need to self-preserve. He believes that because of scarcity of goods, man will be forced into competition, and eventually will take what is others because of competition, greed, and his belief of scarce goods. Hobbes also states that glory attributes to man’s state of nature being a constant state of war because that drives man to go after another human or his property, on the one reason of obtaining glory even if they have enough to self preserve. Equality ties in with Hobbes view of man being driven by competition and glory because he believes that because man is equal in terms of physical and mental strength, this give them an equal cha...
The novel “Lord of the Flies” was written by William Golding to demonstrate the problems of society and the sinful nature of man.
Clearly, though both Thomas Hobbes and John Locke share similar social contracts, with regards to representation and the role of the government, their views are radically different, stemming from their sharply contrasting views on the State of Nature. Although they had radically opposing viewpoints when it came to the role of government, both Hobbes’ Leviathan and Locke’s Two Treatise of Government were instrumental references in the forming the American government and political spectrum. Predictably, Hobbes’ extremely cynical-in-a-PTSD views on the State of Nature (and thus government) were less regarded, in favor of Locke’s more moderate views on government and towards humanity in general.
Thomas Hobbes was one of the most prominent theorists in Europe during the 1600’s. Hobbes rejected medieval scholastic philosophy, preferring the new, modern, scientific ways of thinking on the rise in England and the rest of Europe. Hobbes, being from England, experienced the English Civil War first hand, and he produced his political views by watching the war take place. He believed that if people forfeited their natural rights to be protected by a monarch then there would be no political uprising and revolutions. Without conflicts of power, citizens would focus on helping the state prosper. (Lloyd) Hobbes is considered to be a realist. Realism is the belief that a state or nation will do whatever it takes to survive and anything that is in its best interest in times...
“As the 18th century drew to its inevitable close, the calls for social reform and a utopian egalitarian society quieted down substantially” but the legacy of the enlightenment can be see today, everywhere(The Enlightenment). In political side of things, the ideas of Locke and Hobbes are alive and massively used, with people still debating them. It does seem that Locke’s democracy has been and will continue to fight against Hobbes idea of authoritarian government.
Hobbes, on the other hand argues that justice is needed for people to live together in civil society. He outlines this idea down to human beings in the
����������� 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.
While Hobbes preaches formation of society to be reasoned by the importance of self-preservation, he also expresses his concern for societal improvement and betterment of human lives. As he describes life outside of organizes civility, he notes the issues that are associated with a lack of human socialization, industry, and others. Hobbes explains, “In such condition, there is no place for industry…nor use of commodities that may be imported by sea, no commodious building…no knowledge of the face of the earth…” (Hobbes 84). Activities that bolster human betterment and evolution are not existent in a state of nature.