Preview

Comparing The Theories Of Thomas Hobbes And Jean Jacques Rousseau

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
514 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparing The Theories Of Thomas Hobbes And Jean Jacques Rousseau
For the past many years, people have been trying to figure out the relationship between the government and nature of man. The theories of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau about the connection between nature of man and the government have been debated for many years. These three philosophers have remarkably influenced the way our system works today. Although each theory had its flaws and merits, Jean Jacques Rousseau’s theory is superior in comparison to Thomas Hobbes and John Locke.
Unlike Thomas Hobbes, who believed humans were naturally evil, Jean Rousseau believed that humans are born, neither good nor bad, thus corruption or goodness is taught from the society. For example, when children are born, everything they
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies Persuasive Essay Example
    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Lord of the Flies Persuasive Essay Example

    Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke, I believe are correct "Rousseau believed that through a society people become evil. A society corrupts individuals by bringing out their inclination toward aggression and selfishness"(Mr. Hughes). The second philosopher is John Locke. "Locke believed that everyone was born with a blank slate and that what you experience determines your good or evil"("John Locke"). Both philosophers are correct in what they believe. Experience does determine good or evil and society does play a role in corrupting people. There are some good examples in the world.…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Compare And Contrast Locke And Thomas Hobbes
    • 345 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Compare And Contrast Locke And Thomas Hobbes

    After England had their Civil War and Restoration there was a great deal of confusion on how the country should be govern. During this time two individuals published their thoughts on the issue. Thomas Hobbes believed that humans were in a social contract with the government. On the other hand John Locke believed that human were natural liberals. Both had very different ideas on how the nation should be govern.…

    • 345 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Comparing Thomas Hobbes And John Locke
    • 4904 Words
    • 20 Pages

    Comparing Thomas Hobbes And John Locke

    Imagine that American public officials were meeting today to write a framework for governing a nation. What would be the influence of Hobbes and Locke today? Would the social contract be applied the same as in the 18th century, or would today's leaders look at the writings of Hobbes and Locke differently?…

    • 4904 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Locke Vs Hobbes Essay
    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages

    John Locke Vs Hobbes Essay

    The seventeenth century in England was a time of many kings. Within a century, the reigns of five kings as well as a military dictator had run rampant over England’s government. Starting with James I, the English monarchy traversed to Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, Charles II, James II, and finally William III. With the ascensions of Cromwell and William III, drastic events changed the course of England’s history, as well as influencing two famous philosophical men. Thomas Hobbes, author of Leviathan, and John Locke, author of Second Treatise on Civil Government, drew on their experiences of England’s monarchical turmoil to conceive very different political theories. Both Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were prominent political philosophers in the…

    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Similarities Between Locke And Thomas Hobbes
    • 1609 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Similarities Between Locke And Thomas Hobbes

    I think that both Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are justified with their views on human nature. I believe that human nature is both naturally good and bad but its nature is separate from the actions and beliefs of an individual. Most controversially, I think this can apply to the infamous Adolf Hitler. Evidently, Hitler possessed many negative natures, it seemed.…

    • 1609 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparing Locke And Rousseau
    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Comparing Locke And Rousseau

    The enlightenment idea of John Locke and Rousseau differ from Thomas Hobbes is that they all see enlightenment in a different part of light, but yet they all agree on enlighten as learning knowledge, and wisdom. The European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition “John Locke and Rousseau believe in “natural rights”, while Hobbes believes that people are naturally wicked and cannot be trusted. To govern, and strongly influences absolute monarchy-a government that gives all power to a king or queen is best, Rousseau ideas of government where he believed in the government should be ruled by people. Rousseau was a French philosopher and writer of the “Age of enlightenment. He strongly influenced the French revolution and the socialist theory, and that all men are equal and the titles of the quote “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.” Saying that we are meant to be free are whole life and we can’t because people of government are making laws that are like our chains…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Comparing Thomas Hobbes And John Locke
    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Comparing Thomas Hobbes And John Locke

    When researching the two philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, I have come to a realization that they are both correct considering people are themselves no matter. When looking at a majority though I tend to side with John Locke. People are genuinely more loving and helpful people when it comes down to the bare minimum.…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparing Locke And Hobbes Of John Locke
    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Comparing Locke And Hobbes Of John Locke

    Imagine a world where people get to take part in their government everywhere, where it is equal…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Comparing Thomas Hobbes And John Locke
    • 1685 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Comparing Thomas Hobbes And John Locke

    During the seventeenth century, Great Britain produced Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, two of the greatest political philosophers of all times. Both men are known for their great philosophical ideas that help to explain the role of government in man’s life. Their explanations are based on the description of their understanding of man’s state of nature. While both men do have opposite views on many of their political arguments, the fact that they are able to structure the essence of their conflicting ideologies in to the shell of what they define as the state of man in nature, is the link that relates them to each other. Both man share there desire in an establishment that provides order to ensure not only the protection of the individual, but also the security of the state.…

    • 1685 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hobbes Vs Locke Compare And Contrast
    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hobbes Vs Locke Compare And Contrast

    During the Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason of the 17th and 18th century in Europe, two great thinkers, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, promoted their conflicting views on government. They stood off firmly as rivals as one respectively desired a society in which a monarch was present while the other insisted that people were capable of governing themselves. Their philosophies also contradicted each other on the nature of man. Their ideals on politics have always been of large debate, but both men and their ideas have played huge roles in the current aspects of government in certain areas.…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Similarities Between Locke And Hobbes
    • 953 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Similarities Between Locke And Hobbes

    Philosophers of the Enlightenment had numerous and often discordant ideas about government, the most notable being the contrasting social contract theories of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. Locke believed that humans, in the state of nature, were a blank slate, enjoying complete equality, freedom, and independence. By surrendering some of these natural rights through a social contract, governments were created which would act for the benefit of the people and be controlled by the people. However, certain rights, such as life, freedom, and property, were fixed, and the public had the right to replace any government which violated these rights. As such, Locke’s theory did not support the absolute power of a monarch. This conflicted greatly with Hobbes’ theory, which proclaimed a chaotic state of nature in which humans were innately selfish and savage, and an all-powerful leader was necessary to control them. Though both philosophies have significantly impacted many political systems, Locke’s theory of social contracts, which focuses on a government controlled by reason and the freedom of individuals, is superior to Hobbes authoritarian focused theory.…

    • 953 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    Control and Resistance; a Critical Examination of Gender Scripts in Relation to Women’s Bodies in Public Spaces
    • 4177 Words
    • 17 Pages

    Control and Resistance; a Critical Examination of Gender Scripts in Relation to Women’s Bodies in Public Spaces

    Modern understandings of the state in controlling and developing people’s lives follow from the work of the enlightenment with Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Thomas Hobbes. Rousseau ([1762] 1998) described his idea of the state constituting from its foundation of a social contract. Hobbes ([1651] 1962) concentrated on the moral notions of the state discussing what the society of man was like before the emergence of the state, what was the ‘sate of nature’ and suggesting that it drove us to need a state for our own wellbeing, in effect that we need to be governed for our own good.…

    • 4177 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Hobbes & Locke Comparison
    • 3299 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Hobbes & Locke Comparison

    This essay will compare and contrast several of the political theories on natural law, the need for government and structure thereof, as expressed in Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan and John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government. Similarities and differences of political theories are found in these two works, posing the question of whether Locke’s thesis is fundamentally different than Hobbes. A thorough examination of these two influential political thinkers demonstrates that Hobbes and Locke both provide significant development in political theory by investigating human beings in the state of nature and the consequential need for a sovereign. The two authors discuss the institution of the Commonwealth, the powers granted thereto as well the powers they suggest be retained by the governed. Although Hobbes insight is interesting and poses some valid theories, his pessimistic view of the state of nature, combined with excess power granted to the sovereign, makes his work understandably controversial. Locke discovers a similar need for a sovereign power but limits his power to rule by consent for the public good. Additionally, Locke’s characterization of the human beings in the state of nature establishes an optimistic and welcoming contrast to Hobbes. While Locke’s book certainly offers some parallels to Hobbes, Locke cultivated his own unique political philosophy, substantially distinct from that of Hobbes.…

    • 3299 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    State of Nature
    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages

    State of Nature

    John Locke, perhaps the most influential of the natural rights philosophers, thought that human nature was generally good and reasonable. However, he recognized that people are also very self-interested, so those citizens who had an advantage would try and take away the rights of the weak. The weak could then band together against the stronger citizens, and there would be chaos without laws. This part of human nature makes it necessary to have a government. Locke felt that the best type of government was something along the lines of a constitutional monarchy. Other philosophers, however, disagreed. Thomas Hobbes, for example, thought that humans were generally evil in nature. Because of this, a very strong ruler is needed for a successful government. Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed that a state of nature became a nasty and immoral condition. He felt that people should unite through the social contract, and disregard the ideas of natural rights. He thought that society depended on the will of the people, and was an advocate of socialism.…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Comparing Hobbes and Locke
    • 1315 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Comparing Hobbes and Locke

    Social contract theorists Thomas Hobbes and John Locke agree that legitimate government comes only from the mutual consent of those governed. Although both were empiricists, the ways by which they came to their conclusions differed wildly, and perhaps as a result their views on the means by which society should be governed also conflicted. This paper will briefly address the different conclusions as well as the reasoning that led to them.…

    • 1315 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More