...1 Hobbes v. Locke Do you generally believe people are good? If you trust your fellow man so much, then why do you lock your door? This is a form of the question, the great philosopher, Thomas Hobbes would propose to people who believe that the general human state of nature is good. Thomas Hobbes had a pessimistic view of human nature, similar to John Calvin. Hobbes believed that the rapacious nature of man was for everyone to be at war with everyone. By competing in each person’s own self interest, which led to life being poor, solitary, and brutish until the formation of government. In the state of nature, this enables others to be able to come and take that away from you. This is the intersection where Thomas Hobbes and another great philosopher, John Locke, agree. They both believe that a source of social contract is necessary in order to get along in the state of nature. Although Thomas Hobbes and John Locke both developed the social contract theory, a closer examination of each fundamental philosophy reveals a greater contrast in theory than most fail to realize such as the contrast in origins of government, limitations of government, dwellings of sovereignty, and the rights of revolution. The social contract theory was developed by multiple influential thinkers of political philosophy. One of those men was Thomas Hobbes, who lived during the English Civil War. During this war, he witnessed the collapse of absolute government and therefore influenced his ...
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...THOMAS HOBBES Thomas Hobbes was a British philosopher who believed in Empiricism a theory that believes one gets their knowledge of the world comes from our sensory experiences through our hands, and mouth. At the time Hobbes wrote “The Leviathan” England were at upheaval over the civil war so he wrote “The Leviathan” as to show his observation on how Humans really are in their natural state with his assertion he suggest since being a royalist that to preserve peace , Man should form social contract. He believed any form of government is better than none. His Philosophy along with those of Machiavelli were seen as the foundation for Modern political thinking. Just like Machiavelli assertion that humans are essentially evil and selfish, Hobbes also believes that human are inherently selfish. The Mortal God as Hobbes describes “The Leviathan” is created in order to protect the people creating and enforcing the laws. Thesis Hobbes claim that when man is left in “The State Of Nature” he is unable to preserve his life making it brutish and short therefore man should form an social contract allowing an absolute authority the (sovereignty) create and implement laws they should follow in order to maintain peace and avoid civil war. Insight 2nd Paragraph Thomas Hobbes and Niccolò Machiavelli both make similar assertion but greatly contradicts one another. Both Hobbes and Machiavelli have a pessimistic view on human nature. Thomas Hobbes believes that humans are only interested...
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...were they? (Type here→) Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher, and was very involved in his politics. Where were they from? (Type here→) He was from London, England When did they live? (Type here→) He was born April 5th, 1588 and died on December 4th, 1679. Thesis statement: Tie in the name of your historical figure plus the SPEC words (social, political, economic, & cultural). (Type here→) Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher that affected England politically, socially, economically, and culturally. Topic sentence (social) (Type here→) He had moral ideas that were based off of natural authority that rules us. Claim #1 (Type here→) Citizens do not have the...
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...Response Paper Thomas Hobbes was born in London in 1588. After his father’s early death Hobbes was raised by his uncle. Thomas Hobbes received his education at Oxford University in England. As the scene was being set for the Civil Wars ‘’Civil war meant that the country became militarily divided.’’ all divisions cut across one another for this reason Thomas Hobbes felt forced to leave the country for his personal safety. Then he lived in France from 1640 to 1651. In this point we can easily understand that social and political chaos affected Hobbes’s life and shaped his thought, but it never prevented his intellectual development. His early position gave him to read, write and publish. On the other hand Thomas Hobbes also likes travelling that’s why he traveled to other European countries several times. While he travelling he meet with other scientists. In 1651, Thomas Hobbes wrote his most famous work which was name is Leviathan. His main concern is the problem of social and political order. First one is how human beings can live together in peace and avoid the danger and fear of civil conflict. He believed that humans were basically selfish. They would do anything to better their position. Left to themselves, he thought, people would act on their evil impulses. According to Hobbes, people therefore should not be trusted to make decisions on their own. On the other hand if we look at Thomas Hobbes’s point of view about human nature we can say that; his view is a pessimistic...
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...influential work to two philosophers who defined optimism and pessimism. II. Focus on the Thesis Statement: Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were two leading political theorists throughout the seventeenth century who had two different perspectives on life. In Formulations website, Gordon Diem testifies Hobbes as the recognized author of "Leviathan," and Locke as the popular writer of "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding." III. Connect with the Audience: Everyone in the world has their own philosophies and outlooks on life; you might even have your own. IV. Preview of Main Points: a. Preview Point 1: Hobbe’s and Locke’s life before they became well known philosophers. b. Preview Point 2: Their opinions on the appearances of man. c. Preview Point 3: The natural characteristics people have within themselves. d. Preview Point 4: How all men are uniform in nature. Transition: I will begin by informing you about their opinions on the appearance of man. Body I. Main Point 1: A glimpse into the early life of certain individuals can momentously affect how one would evaluate the future and the people surrounding them. a. Sub Point 1: As a child, Thomas Hobbes took care of himself and his younger brother without the involvement of his parents. On the other hand, John Locke’s parents supported him and they helped him succeed in his schoolwork. Locke earned his bachelor’s degree in 1656 and his master’s degree in 1658, yet Hobbes completed...
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...Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher who was born April 5,1588 and died December 4,1679. He attended Oxford University where he studied classics. He was a tutor by profession and also traveled around Europe to meet scientists and to study different forms of government. Thomas Hobbes was the first great figure in modern moral philosophy. He became interested in why people allowed themselves to be ruled and what type of government would be best for England. Hobbes had a pessimistic view of people. His view was that humans were mean creatures who would do anything to better their positions. Also that people could not be trusted to make decisions on their own and a country needed an authority figure to provide direction and leadership. Therefore, he believed in monarchy- a government that gave all power to a king or queen. He said that democracy would never work because people were only interested in promoting their own self-interests. Despite this doubt of democracy, he believed that a contrasting group of representatives presenting the problems of the common person would prevent a king from being unfair and cruel. Hobbes originates the phrase 'Voice of the people' meaning one person could be chosen to represent a group with similar views. Legitimacy of government Hobbes was a dedicated materialist. The views that got him in trouble were related to this, as Hobbes claimed to believe in God...
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...John Locke, Thomas More, and Thomas Hobbes were all political philosophers of their time. Thomas More, would be the least of a philosopher out of the three. Thomas More, a respected statesmen and prominent political figure and advisor to Henry VIII, was best known for authoring Utopia which depicts the social, religious, and political customs of a fictional island and attempts to define an ideal society. More’s Utopia portrays a humanist ideal world, where there is freedom and harmony between individuals and Sovereign themselves. The difficulty with Utopia is that it does not consider actual human behavior patterns. A society can accept the idea of perfect society, there is no need for “thank you” or “I’m sorry” in a society that runs on perfection and generosity runs like a spectacular waterfall. The problem is that Utopia wouldn’t work, a society would become susceptible to negative behavior, once one individual abuses the generosity of others, others will see the advantage and start to follow...
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...Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher in the 17th century, who was best known for his book Leviathan and his political views on society. Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher, who was a student of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle, explored justice, beauty, and equality, and among many other topics. There are many common topics available to compare and contrast Thomas Hobbes and Plato. Although one point that has to be made clear is that, they share similar ideologies. Between Plato and Hobbes, there are many differences, however one of these differences is the result in how each writer perceives human beings and their roles within the state and society. Both have radically opposing views on human nature in general; because of the fundamental...
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...Political Thinkers: Thomas Hobbes and John Locke Abstract The Social Contract theory which dominated the European political thought in the eighteen century has played a very important part in the development of the modern political theory and practice. Being the most important of all the speculative theories, it came into being as a result of reaction against the theory of the Divine Origin. This theory was the first to denounce the influence of the church in the state affairs, provided an explanation for the origin of the state and shows the relationship between those who governs and those who are governed. Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are the chief exponents of the Contract Theory. Both of them have established their thesis from the beginning of human habitation, though their ideas and opinions are quite distinct. Hobbes in his theory has only described one contract where Locke has described two. Thomas Hobbes’ “Leviathan” and John Locke’s “Two Treaties on Civil Government” these books are considered as bibles in the evolution of modern states system. Though there are criticisms and debates regarding the social contract theory, but the modern political theories today have evolved from these contract theories which has no doubt. The aim of this assignment is to compare and contrast between Thomas Hobbes and John Locke and explore their contribution in the development of international relations according to the analysis of their works. Introduction Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan...
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...rival or someone they despise. During the Age of Enlightenment, two critical philosophers, Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, both mentioned this word, enemies, in their works. Most interestingly, their attitudes towards the enemy are not the same; the enemy is also not its definition. Both philosophers clearly utilizes this word to convey their messages or ideas toward human nature and the Enlightenment more clearly. Hobbes sees the enemies as a concrete concept, a physical referent, while Rousseau has a more abstract viewpoint on enemies, and both of their approaches enforce their personal beliefs toward their changing society....
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...| John Locke | The father of modern liberalism | | Cole Davis | 5/20/2012 | | Liberalism, a political ideology based on the belief that constant progress is achievable, the human race is composed of intrinsically good beings, and that these intrinsically good beings are and should be autonomous in nature, is an idea that made an incredible resurgence during the English enlightenment. As the belief of Liberalism gained popularity with the public it also developed an enormous following among European philosophers. John Locke, the individual responsible for the idea of natural rights as well as the social compact, helped mold this idea of Liberalism into its own unique philosophical tradition. Because of these great contributions, John Locke is considered as father of modern liberalism. Born August 29, 1632 at Wrington in Somerset, John Locke was the son of a lawyer and the oldest child of his Puritan household (Locke, Berkeley, Hume). While Locke was a child, his father closely monitored and guided his education. An incredibly educated individual, Locke first received a formal education at Westminster School eventually graduating to Christ Church, Oxford (Collinson). After receiving his bachelors of arts in 1656, Locke stayed at Oxford to earn his master’s degree. Locke became the censor of moral philosophy in 1664 and in 1675 when the Earl of Shaftesbury fell from power; Locke exiled himself to France to restore his health (Locke, Berkeley, Hume). After four...
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...a long study theory since 17th century, starting with Thomas Hobbes and then in more depth by Cesare Beccaria in 1764 when he published Dei Delitti e delle Pene (On Crimes and Punishments).Deterrence theory has continue to be study in more and more depth over the years by sociologist and criminologist and more recently the study of deterrence of specific crimes and using imprisonment times to deter crimes as well. The deterrence theory main idea is that punishment for crimes can be used as a threat to deter people from offending. There’s two parts of the deterrence theory, specific and general deterrence. Specific deterrence is focused fully on the individual; it instils fear in the specific individual being punished. This type of deterrence refrain the individual from future violation of the law. General deterrence is the Criminal Justice system making examples of specific criminals. The criminal isn’t the main focus but the criminal act and its punishment is received in a public view in order to deter other individuals from deviance in future. Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher, best known for his work on political philosophy. Hobbes published Leviathan in 1651, which is the foundation of later Western political philosophy. In Leviathan, Hobbes describes men as neither good nor bad, he assumed that men are creatures of their own desire who want certain things and who fight when their desires are in conflict. Hobbes views that people generally pursue their self-interests...
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...reality or what is a dream, or at bare minimum prove that there are no certain marks to prove otherwise. He states, “…as I think about this more carefully, I see plainly that there are never any sure signs by means of which being awake can be distinguished from being asleep. The result is that I begin to feel dazed, and this very feeling only reinforces the notion that I may be asleep” (First Meditation). In my attempts to contrast what Descartes argument was comprised of and what certain illusions made him feel this way about our perception of physical existence. I turned my attention to his famous dream argument originally brought forth in his Mediation on First Philosophy, and will be using different ideologies between a John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, two famous English philosophers who have attempted to refute Rene Descartes’s dream argument by providing useful and insightful situations to further explain against the idea, as well as provide my own insight in concluding that we are not dreaming right now. It should be noted that within the context of Meditations, which is atypical from traditional philosophical text, the narrator is considered ‘I’ and is intended to be a fictional character by Descartes. This invites any thinker in a search for inevitability to be able to relate. It should also be noted that what set the argument in motion, and what was seemingly the cornerstone of the idea itself, was in the deficiency of...
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...Comparing Thomas Hobbes and John Locke’s views concerning what life is like in a state of nature, we can see that the two-theorist’s share opposite views in making an assumption of what the state of nature is like. Thomas Hobbes’ views include pessimistic views of nature and how its effects can influence man to selfishly consider what he would need to do to secure his safety while John Locke presents a natural concept that assumes there is a universal thought of good that man is aware of. Attempting to justify the role of government or justice by understanding the state of nature can be somewhat accurate and can be considered for such purposes, but may fail to answer some aspects of society overall and leave other things unanswered. In regards...
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...“Computers are magnificent tools for the realization of our dreams, but no machine can replace the human spark of spirit, compassion, love, and understanding.” Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Materialist Thomas Hobbes once stated that “human beings are in effect just complicated machines”, I disagree with that because unlike machines, humans are having a lot of factors to them that make them unpredictable whereas even the most complicated ones have predictable behaviors,. While humans behave as per their consciousness, machines just perform as they are taught and the most obvious reason is human emotion. This essay will be further expanding on ideas which will be contradicting Thomas Hobbes theory of human machines. “Your intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you.” Roger Ebert The main thing that makes humans, unlike machines is our emotions, unlike machines emotions are the very core of our being even though our brain makes chemicals that allow us to feel emotions, but that does not define what emotions are. Emotions are what make us weak and also make us strong. A mother’s love for their child can make her cry when they have to live apart for a prolonged period. Again, even the weakest of the weak might rise to the occasion and give a valiant fight with the strongest mass to save his beloved from any form of harm. A machine no matter how complicated cannot use emotions the way a human does, if it to be to keep a memory or even shape their being therefore...
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