THOMAS HOBBES: LEVIATHAN

Question 1

Background Information about Hobbes:

Answer 1

Born: 1588

Died: 1679 (91 years old)

Fear: He says his mother gave birth to twins, him and fear (this quote shows how deeply he saw himself as a fearful man)

Education: Well educated, went to Oxford

Economy: Not born wealthy, worked as a tutor for the Cavendish family and basically raised the Cavendish children

Question 2

What was the importance of the Scientific Revolution during Hobbes livelihood?

Answer 2

• SR is characterized by experimentation, observation, and knowledge we acquire ourselves rather than turning to received knowledge
• The SR is an effort to move away from received wisdom and towards acquired wisdom (Hobbes wants to do this)
• SR led to developments in human autonomy where we discovered the use of dissection of corpses to acquire scientific knowledge on humans instead of studying animal bodies
• William Harvey: scientist who discovered that blood circulates throughout the body

Question 3

What is epistemology?

Answer 3

Epistemology is how we study things/ the study of how we obtain knowledge

Question 4

Hobbes empiricist approach on epistemology (the way we obtain our knowledge)

Answer 4

• Believes in Empiricism: The idea that we come to knowledge through reason, experience, and what is observable via our sense
• He rejects: abstract reasoning and divine revelation
• He believes that the body is an empty state and it receives what the body feeds into it

Question 5

What is empiricism?

Answer 5

Empiricism is the idea that we come to knowledge through reason, experience, and what is observable via our senses

Question 6

What is materialism?

Answer 6

Definition: The idea that everything is material; everything is matter/physical

Extreme Definition: The idea that our mental state, emotions, etc. is a result of what is physically in this world

Question 7

Hobbes thought on materialism:

Answer 7

Hobbes believes that materialism/ only what is physical is what is real

He also believes that what we think results from our physical interactions

He is ANTI-platonic (Big contrast to plato who is an idealist and dismisses the physical things in the world and thinks that the only things that matter are our ideas)

Question 8

Hobbes thoughts on Experimentation and Observation:

Answer 8

He believes that the only way to come to TRUE Knowledge is through experimentation and observation

He states that we know things by watching and observing what people do:
¨ Wisdom is acquired not by reading books but by men ¨ - Hobbes

There needs to be an effort to experiment and observe, in order to develop laws

Question 9

Background information about the English Civil War:

Answer 9

• Very Bloody
• Lasted about 10 years (1642- 1651)
• Occurred because King Charles I did things with his power as King such as tax unnecessarily, and this upset the Parliamentarians.
• Religious Conflict: Charles I was Catholic and Parliament is predominately protestant
• Decade long war occurs between the Royalist (people in favor of King Charles) and Parliament
• Parliament ends up beheading/executing King Charles, this gets backlash because Charles was seen as ¨God on Earth¨ and causes a crisis of authority

Question 10

What effect did King Charles execution have?

Answer 10

It created this idea that ordinary people like Parliamentarians can judge, try, and even execute anyone in power

It caused people to question the role of a King, leading to a problem of authority

Crisis upended the entire political authority of England at the time.

It ended conceptual political order: the idea that the King has complete political power just because.

Question 11

What effect did the English Civil War have on Hobbes?

Answer 11

It caused Hobbes to question where political power comes from, how much power a ruler should have, and why do humans go to war and how should we prevent war?

He wants to use the English Civil War as an example of what should be avoided.

Caused him to want to develop an explanation as to why an absolute authority like King Charles should be defendable and defended

Question 12

According to Hobbes, how do we prevent war?

Answer 12

The Leviathan

Question 13

What is the Leviathan

Answer 13

An absolute authority (A sovereign)

People fear the Leviathan more than they fear death

¨ Mortal God¨ - Hobbes

Not an equal party to the covenant ( he is above and enforces all covenant)

Cannot be accused of injustice or be punished because he is not subject to the law. He can only make and enforce laws.

Carte Blanche- sole freedom to act as he wishes or deems best (sole judge of what is necessary)

He cannot be put to death

Question 14

Rights of the Leviathan

Answer 14

• Education
• Property
• Appoint Judges, councilors, and advisors
• Make War
• Assign honors and orders
• Decide punishment

( Citizens have liberty to do everything that is NOT in this list)

He has limitless POWER but not limitless liberty

Question 15

How does Hobbes want to use the science of man to support his ideas?

Answer 15

He wants to use his diagnosis of human nature to come up with an identification to the problem of politics and come up with a solution to that problem based on what human nature is actually like.

He wants to justify what politics should be based on human psycology

Hobbes says our thoughts are intertwined and they come from what we experience

Question 16

Hobbes views on mind and body distinction compared to Plato

Answer 16

Hobbes: Believes there is NO distinction between the mind and the body because the mind is exactly what the body experiences. Directionality: What goes on in the mind is a direct result of what goes on in the world.
- Hobbes also believes there is constant deliberation because we are constantly worrying in our heads

Plato: Makes a distinction between the realm of the intelligible (above the cave) and the invisible (inside the cave). He believes that the present and what is in our minds are two completely different things.

Question 17

Instrumental Rationality

Answer 17

According to Hobbes:
- Reason is an instrument
- Rationality is mechanistic, it is just a calculation or equation where you figure out how to get what you want

Question 18

What are the 7 Simple Passions?

Answer 18

1. Appetite
2. Aversion
3. Desire
4. Joy
5. Greif
6. Love
7. Hate

A Dog Just Got Lead Home

Question 19

What are the ¨ good ¨ simple passions and why are they good?

Answer 19

Appetite, Desire, and Love (Maybe Joy)

They are considered good because we are attracted to it/move towards it/ their is an attraction towards object

Question 20

Hobbes views on morality:

Answer 20

He doesn’t have a theory on morality nor actually sees things as good or evil

Question 21

What are the “bad/evil” simple passions and why are they considered bad?

Answer 21

Aversion and Hate ( Maybe Greif )

They are considered bad because we move away from it/ repulsion away from object

Question 22

What are the pleasures of the mind?

Answer 22

Joy and Greif

They can be seen as both good and bad

They are pleasures because we anticipate OR want to get away from

Question 23

What are sensory passions?

Answer 23

Passions about the objects we have in front of us

Question 24

What are the secondary passions?

Answer 24

Power, fear, and will

Question 25

What is power according to Hobbes?

Answer 25

Power: The ability to acquire what we want or what we seek to avoid. It is just a tool where we get what we desire.

Hobbes does not give an absolute definition of power

Hobbes believes that human beings always want more power because we want to make ourselves feel safe. We seek power to avoid fear.

Question 26

What is fear according to Hobbes?

Answer 26

Fear is aversion with opinion of hurt

Fear is a passion that we have where we imagine that something is going to hurt us

It causes us to want to avoid being put in circumstances that can possibly endanger us so we seek to acquire power.

Question 27

What is Will according to Hobbes?

Answer 27

Will is the decision to act or not to act

It is a conclusion that you draw from the consideration of good or evil consequences

Question 28

Hobbes views on Good and Evil:

Answer 28

He doesn’t believe anything is good or bad, it only has a good or bad RELATION depending on what you get from it.

Nominal view of good and evil: something is good or bad, simply because we call it so (the name creates the status)

Question 29

How is nominal view of good and evil problematic according to Hobbes?

Answer 29

This is problematic because your good can be someone else’s evil and someone else’s evil can be good for you.

Problematic because it leads to radical instability; there is always a threat that someone can act in a way that is good for them but evil for you.

Question 30

How are people like in the state of nature?

Answer 30

People are equal in strength: People are equally as strong/they are equally a threat. (Strength is not just physical but some people can have a more cunning mind, making them as equally strong as someone who is just physically strong )

People are equal in prudence: Every one has equal ability to learn from past experiences and their empiricism ( their sensory experiences)

Question 31

What is another name for the state of nature?

Answer 31

Natural Condition

Question 32

Why is it a problem for everyone to be equal in the state of nature?

Answer 32

Nominalism

Everyone can hurt everyone because everyone is equal

People have the right of nature, which is the right to defend themselves.

In wartime, we understand that every man is an enemy to every man but even after wartime people are still enemies to each other.

Question 33

What is the RIGHT of nature?

Answer 33

It is the right to do anything to preserve oneself. The right to self preservation comes from natural existence as human beings

It is not moral but it is a human necessity

It includes the right of taking someone else’s life if deemed necessary

Question 34

What are LAWS of nature?

Answer 34

It is a natural law that is not written down and no one tells you, you just know by using your RATIONALITY

Laws or things that we will just know as facts based on human nature and natural condition that Hobbes has portrayed on us.

Question 35

What is a POSITIVE law?

Answer 35

A written or established law.
Ex: A Constitution

Question 36

First Law of Nature:

Answer 36

Seek peace and if you can’t, then seek war. (AKA: Defend yourself by all means)

Question 37

2nd Law of Nature:

Answer 37

Lay down your right of nature if others do so as well (You promise to do nothing as long as others promise the same)

Question 38

3rd Law of Nature

Answer 38

Keep your promises.

Justice can only be possible is everyone agrees to keep their promises

Once everyone agrees to keep their promises, then you can build a moral universe because people have a foundation laid.

In foro Interno/ In foro Externo: People will keep their promises but when you get to external/real circumstances there are no promises.

Question 39

What is the moral of the Hobbesian/ Prisoners Dilemma?

Answer 39

A person is going to make the decision that best benefits them.

Question 40

What is the solution to the Prisoners Dilemma?

Answer 40

A covenant

Question 41

What is a covenant?

Answer 41

A social contract/ agreement to lay aside your state of nature and put all your power into one person: The Leviathan

Question 42

What does the covenant do?

Answer 42

It changes the natural condition so that one person has more strength and prudence than everyone else.

Question 43

In the covenant, who is making the agreement?

Answer 43

Every man to every man

It is important that they do not covenant with the leviathan, because if they do it makes them equal to the leviathan

Not everyone has to agree to covenant, but if you do not then u stay in the state of nature and you most likely will be killed

Question 44

What is the purpose of the covenant and how does it work?

Answer 44

Purpose: For the Leviathan to protect the people.

How it works: The people agree to give all the authority to the Leviathan. They cannot undo the creation of the Leviathan and you cannot leave the covenant.

Question 45

What is absolutism, according to Hobbes?

Answer 45

Rule of leviathan (Leviathan is law)

The law is what is absolute

A political system in which one ruler has absolute power

Question 46

What is Constitutionalism?

Answer 46

This idea that the law is the supreme authority; a government’s authority is determined by a body of laws or constitution.

Question 47

What form of government does Hobbes prefer?

Answer 47

Hobbes is not specific as to what form of government we have as long as it is absolute (absolutism)

He prefers having a single person have complete power versus a group to have complete power because the power of one cannot be divided.

Question 48

What does Hobbes mean by negative and positive liberty?

Answer 48

Negative Liberty- When there are no restraints to keep you from doing something

Positive Liberty- You have the right to do something, it is a right that you have. (Hobbes doesn’t care about this type of liberty because he isn’t interested in enumerating rights for us)

Question 49

In what circumstances are subjects allowed to NOT obey the Leviathan?

Answer 49

If obeying him is putting yourself in harms way

Question 50

If Leviathan has absolute authority, why wouldn’t he just do whatever he wants?

Answer 50

Natural punishment- If leviathan disobeys the rules, he will be faced with God’s wrath

The Leviathan is also not going to press people or be unjust because he is interested in his self preservation which includes everyone else’s self preservation

Question 51

According to Hobbes, what causes a commonwealth to break down?

Answer 51

1. Lack of absolute power- Detrimental to commonwealth because then you have competing roles again, like in the state of nature.
2. Divided Sovereignty- Replication of natural condition at the level of government
3. Citizens rights against the Sovereign- If the citizens can have rights against the sovereign then that is a restriction on the sovereign, unallowing the sovereign to do something the citizens have the right to do
4. Inflammatory/bad ideas- Hobbes wants to make sure that people know that they cannot criticize the Leviathan and that they do not get the idea that the Leviathan is an object for their critique
5. Citizens rights in general- If citizens have rights then that can restraint the Leviathan in some way down the road
6. Lack of money- breeds insecurity and causes a constant effort to want to acquire power which can cause conflict

Question 52

How do these diseases of the common wealth weaken the common wealth?

Answer 52

They are a problem because they make people more equal to each other and increase the competition for resources, including power.

Question 53

Hobbes views on human nature:

Answer 53

Amoral and nominalist way of looking at morality (non platonic/ no universal way of looking at morality)

Question 54

Hobbes views on humans as instrumental reasoners:

Answer 54

Hobbes says reasoning is an instrument/tool to get what we want (it is not good like how Plato says it is)

Question 55

Hobbes views on obligation:

Answer 55

We need some kind of obligation to order our system because without any source of obligation we are just back in the natural condition

Question 56

Thoughts on Hobbes solution to the state of nature:

Answer 56

A cure is still a cure. Some kind of security, peace, and order is better than constantly being afraid for our lives.