Hobbes; Human Nature Flashcards
Hobbes psychology; Hobbes believes that reason is = a reckoning of the consequences of …
general names agreed upon.”
There is not some kind of arch faculty called reason that we can appeal to, what are people really appealing to?
Their own definition of reason.
All passions derive from two basic impulses in human phycology; what are they?
desires and aversions.
Is there any moment when we aren’t desiring or having an aversion to something?
No.
How can we think of desire and aversion in terms of motion? (think of magnets)
Desire draws us towards something; aversion repels us from that thing.
What is death according to Hobbes?
Involuntary sensation of desire, you are desiring, suddenly stop desiring because you’re dead.
Do we sound active in Hobbes description of pycology?
No very passive, in no control just battered around by our own desires.
What does Hobbes think about deliberation?
What is deliberation a battle between?
it is not us rationally deciding what desire to follow; it is a battle between desires and aversions and which desire or aversion wins decides action.
What is the will according to Hobbes?
final aversion prior to action.
Why are we very similar to animals ?
Both animals and humans are driven completely by desires.
Most humans are known for having free…
will.
What is Hobbes definition of power?
Power is the “present means to obtain some future apparent good”
What will you need to satisfy your desires?
power.
There are different forms of power; what is ‘natural’ power?
physical strength.
What do other forms of power be derived from riches…
reputation, friends.
The reputation of power is the same as…
having power.
When does the search for power “ceaseth..
only in death.”
Why do we desire power as long as we live?
because we always have desires and we need power because to satisfy those desires.
All our passions are the same, all love something, all experience envy, hate something….but what is different?
objects of our desires.
Define felicity;
continuous progress of desire, never going to sit back and rest on our laurels and say that we have enough as anticipate future desires.
State of nature; “The human condition in the absence of government or…
a society.”
In the absence of government, we are not a community or society but a mere …
multitude of individuals.
Hobbesian equality; what does equal for Hobbes mean?
all humans have same capacity to destroy each other/capacity to inflict same amount of pain.
Hobbesian equality; what about the fact that some people are stronger than others? but what can weak do?
Weak people can join together as a confederate to hurt a strong person or attack when sleeping or be cunning.
Hobbesian equality;Quote; “They are equals who can do …
equal thing against one another; and they who can do the greatest things, namely to kill (one another) can do equal things.”
Does Hobbes think that human beings are inherently belligerent?
No, not attack each other for the sheer pleasure or satisfy some lust for killing.
Define belligerent?
Hostile and aggressive
What Richard Tuck say about humans in Hobbes state of nature…
“human beings are not belligerent, they are stand offish.”
Label three sources of conflict in natural state ?
competition
Diffidence
Glory
Why conflict? Why would we descend into violence in absence of government?
Define competition
Fighting for gain and using violence to take other things or other people’s things
What is the competition for?
resources causes conflict in state of nature, everyone starts grabbing stuff, water, fuel ect…
Why would we descend into violence in absence of government?
Define Diffidence?
The fear of what others might do encourages pre-emption,
Diffidence; insecurity is bred by the…
pursuit of security.
Diffidence; as you don’t know what others will do, what is the rational thing to do?
the rational thing to do to protect yourself is pre-emptively attack others to ensure they can’t attack you.
safety is main priority.
Define Glory
Fighting for reputation of our imagined superiority/ reputation.
Hobbes thinks that human beings are striving towards glory, thoroughly distorted sense of own superiority, better than others, who disagrees with this?
Rousseau, vanity and superiority is a product of society, natural humans would not have had these.
Who do we require validation from about our own superiority?
From other people, not enough just to think of ourselves as good, pretty.
What can cause conflict ?
a mere trifle such as a smile or look
These sources of conflict is going to result in war of every…
man against every man.”
State of nature not just involve war, but state of nature is
a condition of war.
Is there a conceptual separation for Hobbes between state of war and state of nature?
No.
Is there true cooperation in state of nature/ war?
No.
The state of nature is not a condition of perpetual violence its a condition of…
perpetual war.
What does the condition of perpetual war mean about violence?
The threat of violence is always present, never guaranteed peace but does not mean constant violence.
What does Hobbes compare the intermittent violence to…
weather with intermittent rain.
What does intermittent violence mean that humans cannot do?
anything that involves planning such as planting crops because someone could steal them/kill you.
Define commodious living ?
comfortable or a convenient way of living.
In the state of nature, is there moral distinctions?
No stable moral distinctions, no common standard of right or wrong.
We have a natural right to everything including…
a right to each others bodies.
Right to all that we need for self preservation.
Life is … (famous quote)
solitary, brutish and short.
