Thomas Hobbes State of Nature in Leviathan Essay - 847 Words

According to the view Thomas Hobbes presents within the selected passaged in the Leviathan, we live in a narcissistic society where man’s condition is primarily driven by ego and where the achievement of personal goals is deemed paramount. Within the State of Nature that is, outside of civil society we have a right to all things ‘even to one another’s body’, and there would be no agreed authority to ensure the moral grounds of our decisions. Therefore since there are no restrictions and no shared authority; man is naturally un-guarded and prone to conflict and each individual is deemed a potential threat to our resources. From this concept Hobbes deduces that the state of nature is thus primarily a state of war, which leads to the†¦show more content†¦The development of the selected passage into discussion about the need for a ‘social contract’ expresses how ultimately Hobbes saw society as being the only solution to the state of nature. This is in direct contrast to Rousseau who in claiming that ‘Hobbes was taking socialized persons and simply imagining them living outside of the society in which they were raised’ saw society as the problem and being in a state of nature as the solution. Rousseau however didn’t completely disagree with Hobbe’s concept of man as described in this passage as being selfish and egotistical, rather he illustrates his image through the argument that society is the driving force transforming the ‘natural man’ into Hobbe’s materialist interpretation. Contrasting Rousseau’s more positive stance to H obbe’s somewhat pessimistic state of nature â€Å"brings into focus the goodness of peace† (James Madison), which further compliments the location of the passage and the central features of the desirability of peace that proceed it. From the complex ideas introduced in the selected passage, Hobbes proceeds to construct a very significant yet disputable argument in which he encourages the need to submit ourselves to political authority. He justifies that although men are rational they are naturally self-interested and thus require the authority of a sovereign to govern them. TheShow MoreRelatedThomas Hobbes State of Nature in Leviathan Essay1433 Words   |  6 Pagestheories that grew from them. However, in Thomas Hobbes Leviathan we see a departure from this inequality. The argument of people being equal and the state of man that he develops from that belief are central not only to his own theory but to the world of political science today. It is his examination of people being equal, followed by the state of nature and war, and finally his look at various laws of nature that lead a natural path to his political solution. Hobbes assertion that all people are equalRead MoreState of Nature and Freedom: Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes1424 Words   |  6 PagesState of Nature and Freedom In the Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes places limits on the freedom of individuals in the social contract, as well as individuals in the state of nature. Hobbes writes that in the state nature, â€Å"the liberty each man hath to use his own power as he will himself for the preservation of his own nature; doing anything which, in his own judgement and reason, he shall conceive to be the aptest means there unto† (ch. 14,  ¶1). An individual’s will is only free when there is no extraneousRead MoreDo Metaphors Really Matter?1208 Words   |  5 Pageswill be the metaphor used by the famous English philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, in his famous book, â€Å"Leviathan† which was published in 1651. Thomas Hobbes and the Leviathan Thomas Hobbes was a philosopher who had his interests based mainly on political affairs. As stated earlier, his most famous piece of work, â€Å"Leviathan† was a platform through which Hobbes expressed his ideas of how an ideal state ought to look like. The term â€Å"Leviathan† is used in the Bible in the book of Job, where the creatureRead MoreThomas Hobbes Philosophical Political Piece1317 Words   |  6 PagesThomas Hobbe s philosophical political piece The Leviathan argues that society functions most effectively if all state and commonwealth is delegated by an all powerful sovereign, and that without it we are in a state of chaos, otherwise titled by Hobbes as the state of nature (Thomas Hobbes, 2002, p. 181). I will argue that it is not possible to acknowledge what life is like in the state of nature without fully acknowledging that life in the state of nature leads to an all-powerful sovereignRead More Thomas Hobbes View on Government Essay567 Words   |  3 PagesThomas Hobbes View on Government      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thomas Hobbes in his controversial work, the Leviathan, declares that such   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   a government based on the rule of the common people, would result in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   anarchy and total pandemonium.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But before one can understand Hobbes view on government, it is important   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   to understand how Hobbes feels about people. Hobbes has a very   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   materialistic view on the world because of his belief that the movements Read MoreThomas Hobbes s Leviathan 1190 Words   |  5 PagesThe source which will be analysed is the frontispiece of Thomas Hobbes most famous work ‘Leviathan’ and ‘Leviathan’ as a whole. The frontispiece is considered as prominent as the arguments put forth by Thomas Hobbes in the ‘Leviathan’ itself. The frontispiece depicts a crowned figure grasping a crosier and a sword. This figure, or ‘Leviathan’, represents the all-powerful, comprehensive state. When looked at closely, the torso and arms of the figure are made up of hundreds of individual people, whoRead MoreOn Why Hobbes Is More Reasonable Than Locke1003 Words   |  5 Pagestheories that have been put forth, the most influential perhaps have been John Locke’s and Thomas Hobbes’. While both are Natural Law theorists, they have completely different views of manâ €™s state of nature. John Locke thinks of man in a natural state as a peaceful, social being while Thomas Hobbes thinks of man as an aggressive and greedy man. Both theorists also showed that man doesn’t live in a state of nature, social contracts will be formed to govern the populace. It is, however, the reasons forRead MoreJohn Locke And Thomas Hobbes886 Words   |  4 PagesLocke and Thomas Hobbes. In, Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes, and in, The Second Treatise of Government, by John Locke different theories of political legitimacy and definitions of the state of nature are described. The following paragraphs analyze multiple different points that are imperative to understanding these political theories. In the reading, Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes discusses what human existence is in the state of nature and the state of war. As it is described, the state of nature explainsRead MoreThomas Hobbes Leviathan Essay1029 Words   |  5 Pages A state of nature is a hypothetical state of being within a society that defines such a way that particular community behaves within itself. English philosopher Thomas Hobbes proclaimed that, â€Å"A state of nature is a state of war.† By this, Hobbes means that every human being, given the absence of government or a contract between other members of a society, would act in a war-like state in which each man would be motivated by desires derived solely with the intention of maximizing his own utilityRead MoreThomas Hobbes : The Age Of Reason1313 Words   |  6 Pages11/20/14 2 Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes was a political philosopher who lived at the beginning of the Enlightenment period, also known as The Age of Reason. He lived during a time when England was experiencing a lot of political conflict between the king and Parliament. (Green-Heffern) This was also a time when many questions existed about how to rule a country and what made a good government. Thomas Hobbes’ Elements of Law (1640), his analysis of the Social Contract and his major work Leviathan (1651)