Thomas Hobbes
It is rather ironic to note that the development of higher philosophic ideas causes man to constrain the whole world within the narrow assumptions of his personal understanding of the world. In such instances, philosophers, who are expected to define and assimilate various conflicting ideas into an acceptable explanation of the world, shrink their perspectives and adamantly defines the world within limits set by them.
The ideas of Thomas Hobbes can be considered as narrow and very limiting because he considered the world to work only according to physical laws and definitions. Hobbes' travels throughout Europe brought him in contact with great minds in the field of politics and science, and their interaction was a definite factor that prompted him to write The Leviathan. Hobbes did not have any explanation for the finer and more subtle elements in the world and considered all aspects of life in a purely mechanical perspective. In fact Hobbes believed that the flow of human emotions happened exactly according to the law of physics. He was of the view that the finer and often intangible elements in human life could only be believed and not proved to exist as he writes:
Singly, they are every one a representation or appearance of some quality, or other accident of a body without us, which is commonly called an object. Which object worketh on the eyes, ears, and other parts of man's body, and by diversity of working produceth diversity of appearances." (Hobbes, Chapter 1, 1660).
While explaining the thought processes in human beings, Hobbes maintained that there was nothing like innate ideas in a human being. The entire thought processes that work in us, including our memories, are a consequence of experiences that we are exposed to in this life. According to Hobbes, these ideas are not innately present in us and exist only because of our experiences in life. It may be seen that this view clearly is in conflict with genetics.
Hobbes gave great importance to language and always believed that higher faculties in human beings originated only after a proper language was firmly in place. He believed that philosophy, which could not be expressed due to lack of a language, was useless and limited to one person. In his treatment of philosophy and language, he believes that philosophy could not have originated without language or other concrete faculties of human culture. He does not seem to accept the fact that there are values that are less spoken, but which are expressed beyond the grasp of words.
Hobbes ideas on motivation were an extension of his beliefs…
The traits of the character are regular male traits from the society of that time. The character does not seem to be someone in particular (such a as a well-known knight or king), but a general representation of authority. And his name is Leviathan. The expression on his face is rather neutral, although the look in his eyes might transmit how heavy ad difficult the burden of authority is. This implies
That artificial institution would be "endowed with enough power to deter violence and promise-breaking among it's subjects." But, in conclusion, if that "artificial" institution uses violence or repression to "keep disorder at bay" then, according to what I have gained from reading Hobbes, individuals like myself will have the natural right to disobey those unfair orders, and create an alternative "artificial institution" to be truly free and express absolute liberty.
Philosophical Work: Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan Chapters 17, 19, 29 At the beginning of the first chapter of the second part of his monumental philosophical treatise upon the nature of government, entitled Leviathan, the political philosopher Thomas Hobbes stated that "the final cause, end, or design of men (who naturally love liberty, and dominion over others) in the introduction of that restraint upon themselves, in which we see them live in Commonwealths,
Hobbes Leviathan Thomas Hobbes thought that all human beings were equal in the state of nature, but all equally greedy, violent, vengeful and brutal. As he argued in Leviathan, this was a universal trait of humanity and that the purpose of contracting to form a state and civil society was basically to keep order. As he put it in his famous formulation in Chapter 13, the state of nature was a
Hobbes' Theories Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was a famous English philosopher and political theorist who profoundly influenced the political events during the so-called English Revolution (1640-1660), a time of great upheaval and disorder. Hobbes wrote his famous work Leviathan (1651) in this period in which he advocated a form of government in which the subjects hand over all the authority to the ruler. Hobbes is also thought to be the major
Spielvogel, 2009). Hobbes cites two ways to attain absolute monarchy; by institution and by acquisition. The first one is achieved by voluntary agreement among a multitude of people wherein the selection of the sovereign power is done through the casting of votes or similar. He states that the main reason why people want a commonwealth by institution is because of fear of one another; they want a greater power to
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