Nasty, Brutish, And Short By Thomas Hobbes Essay - 1198 Words

â€Å"Nasty, brutish, and short†. Thomas Hobbes s famously poetic description of pre-political life that is invariably repeated in just about every political science program throughout the Western world. It is a phrase that motivates a strikingly persuasive argument for the solution of government. For Hobbes, this is the State of Nature, and thus the precursory basis for human politics. However, his pessimistic view of the State of Nature has been refuted by other men of great intellectual influence. Another giant in the world of political theory, John Locke, has quite a different, more optimistic, view of what life in the State of Nature is like. In fact, Locke s processes for the formation of government rely on rather different bases. The agreement is clear, however, that government is a progression from a more primal, basic state of pre-political life. What may not be so clear, however, is whether or not this State of Nature has ever truly existed. It seems to be left to op inion, at this point, as to whether or not it existed. After all, one cannot go backwards in time in search of this pre-political period. It is difficult to distinguish if there exists such a state is even possible today, if, by some misfortune, all government ceased to operate. There is large disagreement over how far-reaching and innate â€Å"political life† is tied with human nature. Whether or not it the State of Nature existed, however, is irrelevant when considering the direction that of which Locke sShow MoreRelatedLeviathan by Thomas Hobbes Essay589 Words   |  3 PagesLeviathan by Thomas Hobbes In 1651, Thomas Hobbes published Leviathan, his famous work that detailed his physicalist outlook and his concept of the value of a social contract for a peaceful society and the nature of man. His major belief was that man is a beast that defines his identity through the need to be controlled under some kind of external, oppressive power. This essay will explain Hobbes’ views of man’s identity in the society and will demonstrate how it was mirrored in the politicalRead More Thomas Hobbes View on Government Essay567 Words   |  3 PagesThomas Hobbes View on Government      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thomas Hobbes in his controversial work, the Leviathan, declares that such   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   a government based on the rule of the common people, would result in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   anarchy and total pandemonium.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But before one can understand Hobbes view on government, it is important   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   to understand how Hobbes feels about people. Hobbes has a very   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   materialistic view on the world because of his belief that the movements Read MoreThe Concept Of State Of Nature918 Words   |  4 Pagesphilosopher and an egoist, Thomas Hobbes believes that humans are selfish by nature. 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According to Hobbes, being â€Å"civilized† is good, and beingRead MoreThomas Hobbes and John Lockes Varying Presentations of the Social Contract Theory1499 Words   |  6 PagesBoth Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are well-known political philosophers and social contract theorists. Social Contract Theory is, â€Å"the hypothesis that one’s moral obligations are dependent upon an implicit agreement between in dividuals to form a society.† (IEP, Friend). Both Hobbes and Locke are primarily known for their works concerning political philosophy, namely Hobbes’ Leviathan and Locke’s Two Treatise of Government. Both works contain a different view of a State of Nature and lay out socialRead MoreThe Political Theories Of Machiavelli, Niccolo Machiavelli And Thomas Hobbes1456 Words   |  6 PagesAristotle, Niccolo Machiavelli, and Thomas Hobbes. Aristotle viewed humans as natural â€Å"political animals† that have both rational and irrational sides to them, allowing for a government that provided overall goodness for the people. Machiavelli took a more grim view of human nature that shows humans as being naturally selfish and ambitious, so the government should be about greatness and maintaining power. Hobbes believed that in their natural state, humans are nasty, brutish, and untrustworthy, which forcesRead MoreSummary of Thomas Hobbes Self-Love. Essay676 Words    |  3 PagesSummary of ‘Self Love’ by Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes opens with the idea that all animals live within two sets of perpetual motion. The first being the inborn nature of animals to breath, the pulse and course of blood, the acquiring of nutrition and the exertion that follows, his vital motions. The second animal motions are voluntary, to speak, move and go. These voluntary motions are fueled by ones thought and imagination and are not always apparent to us. Essentially, Hobbes is saying that our thoughtsRead MoreIs Man Naturally Good Or Evil?972 Words   |  4 PagesThe question of whether man is inherently good or evil has vexed humanity since its appearance. Is man naturally good? Does he live in a state of the noble savage? Or was his natural habitat ,nasty , brutish and short? These questions are important because they help inform the way in which we treat our fellow human beings and structure of society. If man is in fact naturally bad then there is little to be gained in trying to make bad people better. Similarly , if we think that people are naturallyRead MoreThomas Hobbes And John Hobbes1426 Words   |  6 Pages Thomas Hobbes believed that men were equal because we are evenly capable of committing violence and murder. Even if one is bigger in size, another person can be quicker, or out-smart another person in order to stay alive. This idea arose from his conception that all people are selfish and no one trusts anyone else. Nevertheless, these mental or physical abilities still make the people equally weak as well. Since Hobbes believed that we all have a desire to stay alive, people had the right to anythingRead MoreDifference Between Hobbes And Rousseau890 Words   |  4 PagesSocial Thought Second Essay: Prompt 2 The social contracts of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau differ from each other due to divergent concepts of the state of nature. All three theories are therefore the products of highly differential ideas of how people instinctively behave. Hobbes, the first of these philosophers to theorize about such topics, believed that humans, while being innately equal with each other, are brutish, cruel, and power hungry. Social contracts are then made to