Preview

Analysis Of Thomas Hobbes Leviathan

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
329 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Analysis Of Thomas Hobbes Leviathan
“We should give our obedience to an unaccountable sovereign […] otherwise what awaits us is a “state of nature” that closely resembles civil war- a situation of universal insecurity” (iep.utm.edu). These words express Thomas Hobbes’ version of philosophical absolutism. He believes that a world without a government yields disorder and lunacy. Hobbes, in his book The Leviathan (1651), communicates a crucial need: a ruler who can keep the world in order, a feared, all-powerful ruler. He concludes in his book that the world needs a leviathan, a sea monster that lived during the time of Job in the Old Testament. This creature’s characteristics are described in chapter 41,
“Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    At first sight, Locke’s The Second Treatise of Government, seemed quite similar to Hobbes’s Leviathan. They both believed that a state of nature is a state that exist without government. They believe that men are created equal in this state, however Hobbes argues that because of self-preservation, man possessed the desire to control over other man. Locke, on the other hand, reasons with a more peaceful and pleasant place.…

    • 789 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bibliography: Gauthier, D. (1969) The Logic of ‘Leviathan’: The Moral and Political Theory of Thomas Hobbes. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.…

    • 3361 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    After his experience in World War 2 William Golding had the idea for his novel The Lord of the Flies, within said novel he included the philosophies of several men. William Golding was aware of the enlightenment philosophers when he wrote The Lord of the Flies, because Ralph had created a legitimate government, the rights of the people were put in danger once his social contract was broken, and once the boy's are given freedom they were corrupted.…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    but such a system would have to take for granted Hobbes’ values and rationality—it would not work ‘right out of the box’ as deontology or utilitarianism does; more on this later.…

    • 1638 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout human history, the issue of power has been the source of countless wars and violence, and so has it sparked inspiration in many philosophers to develop potentially better systems of government. The Age of Enlightenment saw many philosophers sprout with new ideas on forms of government to replace or refine the archaic norm of absolute monarchy; one such controversial thinker was Thomas Hobbes. In his widely-recognized book, The Leviathan, he claimed that, because human beings are naturally selfish and evil, one must cede his or her rights to the absolute monarch so that peace can be established and maintained. However, if all human beings are cruel, then monarchs are not any different from the evil of those he rules. In William Golding’s 1954 novel The Lord of the Flies, Golding reflects Hobbes’ ideas about human nature as he depicts the governing of a cluster of stranded boys on an island, from the lack of cohesion of Ralph’s attempt to rationally lead them back to civilization, to Jack’s manipulation of the children into savagery. William Golding thus qualifies Thomas Hobbes’ position, supporting that humans are naturally selfish and evil but refuting his claim that an absolute ruler would make “wise” decisions through his illustration of Jack’s greed for power, hostile acts to Ralph and Piggy, and manipulation of his followers.…

    • 1210 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Chapter 18

    • 1729 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Hobbes.
Thomas Hobbes. (1588-1679). ‘Born premature when mother heard of oncoming Armada.’ At 40, he took Euclid’s geometry as starting point to make mechanical model of universe (man and society). Mechanism (based on motion) was to greatly influence thinking over next few centuries. Witness to upheaval of civil war in England in 1640s. Fled to France. 1651. Publishes "Leviathan.”Hobbes sees state of nature sans government as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Promulgates absolute monarch thesis. Says people (wholly selfish) should escape chaos of everyday life, give up their freedom to ruler who guarantees peace and order. In his state Hobbes saw ruler as absolute with men having no right to rebel since this would break the social contract and be illogical.…

    • 1729 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thomas Hobbes' Remedy for

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Thomas Hobbes begins Leviathan with Book 1: Of Man, in which he builds, layer by layer, a foundation for his eventual argument that the "natural condition" of man, or one without sovereign control, is one of continuous war, violence, death, and fear.…

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A plane full of adolescent boys crashes on a stranded island, leaving them alone and trapped, are they prone to civilization, or will their age cause disputes and show the true meaning of learning life through experience? Through the boys’ peril, their inhumanity to each other is caused from their want for power, their victimization, and their need to survive on a pig-inhabited island. Thomas Hobbes, an avid supporter of human rights, is definitely a great choice among others, for an appearance in the end of Lord of the Flies. Because of his beliefs, he could have potentially changed the outcome for some of the boys though words of wisdom. In life, people learn and grow during experiences with others, and change is something that happens because of actions and…

    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Roe v. Wade (1973) has been widely criticized on political, moral, and legal grounds. Pro-life activists have mounted massive campaigns against the decision. Many Republican Presidents have promised to appoint Supreme Court Justices who would overrule the decision.…

    • 2073 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    It is a brutish and violent nature. In the absence of culture, arts, science, reading or writing, humans, possibly, are more related to animals, since animals also live in the state of nature, and who always fight for domination. This rather negative view is Hobbe’s main reason why there should be a government. There should be an authority to establish peace. In peace, numerous achievements can be obtained. In peace does humanity progress. It might be argued that Hobbes demands a despot, an autocracy. Still, is not that better than the state of nature? There might be many opposing arguments especially that of the anarchists, yet Hobbe’s examples might not be conquered because they are succinct and feasible. They are plausibly impregnable because they are factual, not idealist. Leviathan does convincingly argue, and this monster in the state of nature does devour…

    • 1395 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes argues that the social contract between man and government allows man to exit the state of nature and enter the state of law. Each man comprises the body of the Leviathan, with only the head…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hobbes' Leviathan and Locke's Second Treatise of Government comprise critical works in the lexicon of political science theory. Both works expound on the origins and purpose of civil society and government. Hobbes' and Locke's writings center on the definition of the "state of nature" and the best means by which a society develops a systemic format from this beginning. The authors hold opposing views as to how man fits into the state of nature and the means by which a government should be formed and what type of government constitutes the best. This difference arises from different conceptions about human nature and "the state of nature", a condition in which the human race finds itself prior to uniting into civil society. Hobbes' Leviathan goes on to propose a system of power that rests with an absolute or omnipotent sovereign, while Locke, in his Treatise, provides for a government responsible to its citizenry with limitations on the ruler's powers. The understanding of the state of nature is essential to both theorists' discussions. For Hobbes, the state of nature is equivalent to a state of war. Locke's description of the state of nature is more complex: initially the state of nature is one of "peace, goodwill, mutual assistance and preservation". Transgressions against the law of nature, or reason which "teaches mankind that all being equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty and possessions," are but few. The state of nature, according to Locke's Treatise, consists of the society of man, distinct from political society, live together without any superior authority to restrict and judge their actions. It is when man begins to acquire property that the state of nature becomes somewhat less peaceful. At an undetermined point in the history of man, a people, while still in the state of nature, allowed one person to become their leader and judge over controversies. This was first the patriarch of a…

    • 3013 Words
    • 87 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Historically, Locke’s treatment of toleration was one riddled with religious change, religious turmoil, and political changes that were shaped largely by religious tensions. This was a time when religion, specifically the Christian Church, became fractioned and led to widespread war and death in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Locke’s Letter on Toleration promoted separation of church and state, arguing that each institution has legitimacy and power in certain areas. The state exists to protect people’s interests, and can use force to protect these interests. However, the state will not be able to coerce its people to believe in a certain religion. In Leviathan, Hobbes provides ideas that support Locke’s toleration of religion. Hobbes belief in the state of nature, state of war, and covenants helps to paint a clearer picture of a world without religious intoleration.…

    • 1970 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, there are numerous references to the emotion of fear in human nature and it’s effects as one of the defining principles of human interaction. It helps set up a foundation of sorts for some of the main points of Hobbes’ liberal view on the governing body of society and a basis for the “Social Contract Theory”.…

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Leviathan

    • 1362 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A Comparison and Contrast Analysis of the Non-Rational Elements of Political Order in the Philosophy of Plato’s The Republic and Thomas Hobbes’ The Leviathan This philosophical analysis will compare and contrast the non-rational elements of political power that are defined in The Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes, and The Republic by Plato. These non-rational views will define how non-rational ideologies can subvert or maintain existing political structures by evaluating the natural order of human hierarchies. Plato defines the appetite for desire as a lower order form of the tripartite soul, which has reasoning and sprit as higher order functions in the human ability to govern political institutions. In similar way, Hobbes recognizes the conflict…

    • 1362 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays