Thomas Hobbes Flashcards
When was Thomas Hobbes born?
1588
Where was Thomas Hobbes born and what’s his background like?
He was born in England during a period of wars including the Spanish Armada and attended Oxford at the age of 15, he worked as a tutor and traveled extensively across Europe gaining exposure to various intellectual and political ideas.
What influenced his thoughts?
He was born in a period of wars, in the year of the Spanish Armada and this greatly influenced his thoughts on government and the society. His work further influenced philosophers like Jean Jacques Rousseau and John Locke
What did his thoughts center on?
The state of nature
The nature of man
Social contract
Absolute Government.
What were his thoughts on the state of nature?
To Hobbes, the state of nature was Solitary, nasty, brutish, poor, and short, and was characterized by injustice due to the absence of a common power which implies the absence of law and justice.
The state of nature has no ruler or property, everything a man can get and hold on to is his to keep.
He argues that the only way to achieve order is for everyone to submit their power to a sovereign, promising obedience in exchange for protection and their obligation should end when the government fails to protect the people
What were his thoughts on the nature of man?
Man seeks his self-preservation in whatever he engages in and has a restless desire for power. He seeks power for security and self-preservation and men are bound to be in conflict since they are individualistic in their selfish quests for power.
There is no right or wrong, justice or injustice because there is no governing body.
He states that man can reason and this is what distinguishes him from other animals and what leads men to desire peace is the fear of death
What were his thoughts on social contract?
He believed the state came about in the form of a contract between the individual and government and the transition from the Hobbesian state of nature to the emergence of an all-powerful Leviathan is the social contract.the sovereign power can come by acquisition or institution and man needed an absolute authority to refrain him from breaking his pledge.
What were his thoughts on Absolute Government
To Hobbes, an Absolute government is needed to make laws and enforce obedience in the state, man is selfish and seeks his glory and needs an absolute authority to refrain him from breaking his pledge.
The sovereign is to ensure peace and security in the state and is to be obeyed without complaint since he is not a party to the contract but a product of it.
He outlined 2 possible sovereigns based on how many individuals rule. Monarchy and Aristocracy and preferred absolute monarchy.
Criticism Against Hobbes
- Theologically minded critics attacked him for sidelining the role of God in establishing political authority
- Many critics claim that his social contract puts man in a worse state than before
- He portrays humans as selfish and driven by their own desires only, but man can also have empathy cooperation, and social bonding beyond selfish interests
- His view of nature ignores the social and cultural influence on man’s behavior
- He portrays absolute authority as the best and didn’t give room for decentralized and more participatory government that would still ensure human freedom
