Thomas Hobbes Flashcards
Historical context
- witnessed the English Civil War
- regicide (execution of Charles I)
- exile of Charles II
-replace monarchy with the commonwealth
-protectorate
Why does this context matter?
- Hobbes managed to create a political theory that infuriated both the parliamentarians and the royalists.
Parliamentarians believed …
- in the central authority of the state, unconditional submission
- liberal, more individual freedoms, more debate, etc
- shared government
Royalist believed…
- didn’t include enough religion
- too much tradition
- pro monarch expansion
Key concepts
- Hobbes desires to prevent civil war above all else
- “consent is essential to be governed”
* people should agree to be governed, but once they greet, they give up all their rights. - men are born free
- men give up their personal freedoms as soon as the sovereign has their consent.
- men are born in a state of war
- sovereign has absolute power
- absolute monarchy
- everything the sovereign does reflects the subjects of the common wealth
- Wishes for peace
What is peace
An absence of war
Human nature
- Men are born free and self preserving
- men are born in a state of war
- born greedy, savage
- human beings re born without political institutions
- Men anticipate conflict in the SON
- our ability is equal in our primal instincts.
- men are at war with one another
-men receive joy by comparing themselves to other men
Purpose of the state =
- to be completely trusting and devoted to the sovereign
- to take responsibility for the actions of the sovereign
-to remain in a state of peace
Power
- all power to the commonwealth
- for the multitude
- sovereign cannot commit injustice
- members of commonwealth have little power
- Sovereign governs the private sphere
- In the commonwealth you are not the master of your own life, the sovereign is
- is justified and used to promote social welfare
- one man, one assembly of voices, one will. —> in return, men shall all share common goals
Justice
- the sovereign can do no wrong, therefore any injustices are invalidated because you are the author of anything the sovereign does
- anything unhelpful to the multitude of the commonwealth is deemed incorrect.
Dignity
- You do not have to fight in war, except for one instance
-if you get caught for committing a crimes you must face the consequences. However, if you do not, you remain free - can do anything to self preserve
- if the sovereign is asking you to harm yourself, you can say no
- you have a right to avoid battle, escape capital punishment and refuse dangerous office
Obligations of the commonwealth
- Limits on liberty
*all laws limit freedom
*fear and liberty are consistent (21:3)
Ex: when a man throw his goods into the sea for fear the ship should sink.
“Acting out of fear is not limiting your liberty” (21:3)
Key concept: state of government
-political absolutism
- extreme liberalism based on a theory of rights
Laws of liberty
1) no law can predict regulations
2) things are not restricted by law (artificial chains. (21:5)
- you can do whatever you want as long as it’s not explicitly written in law
Ex:get rich, etc
- no man has more immunity/ liberty than another in the commonwealth
- submission consists of our obligation and liberty
Every man has the right to piece himself by his private strength ( condition of war) - 18:11
Key concepts - Law of Nature
- Seek peace and comfortable living. If all else fails, war.
- willingness to lay down your absolute rights in relation to others
According to Hobbes, why do we make contracts?
For protection
Key concepts —> common enemies
- If the majority makes actions out of their own judgements and opinions, or according to their own appetites, they can expect to receive no defense or protection against a common enemy, or against the juries of one another
- we musn’t hinder the whole group
Key concept: the case of no sovereign
- if a vast amount of men consent to “observe justice and other laws of nature without a power to keep them all in awe, we might as well ask other places (all of mankind) to do the same. If this happens, there will be no need for civil government or commonwealth
Key concepts: the necessity of war
- War is necessary to the natural passions of men, where there is no visible power to keep them in awe
- war is necessary when we fear punishment
Key concept: of punishment
- punishment is caused by breaking our contracts
Key concepts: Covenants without a sword
Are only words and cannot serve a man.
* no power -> man against man
The sword =
Power, army, militia
What do we fear will happen without without sovereign power?
Anarchy
Key concept: The multitude
- “it is the unity of the represented, not the unity of the representer” (p.104)
*hobbes believes that you are representative of the government you reside under - you take responsibility for government actions
- the multitude only becomes a people through the sovereign
Key concept: sovereign and injustice
“It is true that the one with sovereign power may commit iniquity, but not injustice” (18:6)
- sovereign cannot be punished
- the sovereign has the right of judicature
Sovereign cannot commit injustice if the members of the commonwealth are the authors of all that the Sovereign does. (21:7)
Iniquity
- sovereign can commit
- meaning: when one’s actions goes against natural law
- iniquity goes against theological morals
Injustice
- sovereign cannot commit
- more political - refers to things that violate Hobbes theory of covenant, and since the sovereign has no ruler, he cannot violate Hobbes theories of government
What is judicature
Hearing and deciding all controversies which may arise ( 18:11)
- concerning the law (either civil or natural)
Key concept: Sovereign and war
Sovereign has the right to make war and peace with other nations or commonwealths (18:12)
Key concepts: impediments of motion
Impediments: when we are restrained from achieving our goals by internal impediments (ex: inability to do something)
- meaning: absence of opposition
Key concept: assumption of liberalism
1) fundamental moral fact: individual rights
2) state cannot claim to instill virtues in populace (paradoxical)
Paradox: enable state power
- why could Hobbes be considered a liberal thinker ?
a) because he convinces you to give up parts of themselves in order to be protected by another sovereign power
Key concept: rights of sovereign power
- consent is all reaching and absolute. Through this consent we become the author of everything the sovereign does.
- “no breach of government is possible on the part of the sovereign
- subjects can never be freed from their objection
- single sovereign, cannot form adjacent, minor, or dual commitments
-disobedience of the overdoing isn’t smart or allowed. If you’re caught and killed, you essentially kill yourself - no appeal to heaven if you reside under the commonwealth or Hobbes sovereign
- no division of power; all united under single sovereign
- if sovereign does something deemed bad to your minority group, you cannot believe it is injustice
- no anti-war movement, you must agree
Sovereign decides religious doctrines - no freedom of thinking
- rights of the sovereign are your rights
- you cannot resist the sovereign on another’s behalf
- you can leave the covenant, but once you die, you die
- you’re protected by physical violence, but not other insecurities
Key concept: Why is the state of nature necessary
- no common power, no peace
- men only respect their covenants in fear of punishment of any disrespect may be far worse than the terms of said contract
Key concept: Why do commonwealth’s dissolve?
- divided/ mixed government
- seditious doctrines
- freedom of thought and consciousness
- the belief that hot ever man does against his desires of conscious is sin
- the claim that the sovereign is subject to civil laws
If sovereign power is divided - ## Hobbes distrusts universities and books
