1.1 Power and Hobbes Flashcards
(30 cards)
What is power?
ability to command, steer and control
What are the types of power?
State power (vertical, top-down): Hobbes
Power you cannot avoid out of fear of punishment
Economic power (structural): Marx
No direct command: power exercised by economic markets e.g., no one forces you to go to work, but you still need to because you need wages.
Disciplinary power (micro-meso, rather horizontal): Foucault.
What is the state?
The state is a modern concept with a sovereign (no higher authority of power) that holds monocentric and vertical power (top-down). It is requires both a territory (necessary for states) and a population and it holds a monopoly on violence (only they are allowed to exercise it). It enforces general laws (for everyone) and acts for the public interest. It is a abstract symbolic representation with no physical representation (abstract symbol for which people act).
What is the main purpose of the state?
order and security
Achieved through law and enforcement
How would Hobbes view police officers in the context of the state?
Police officer are an example on how the state holds the monopoly of legitimate violence.
Only the state can legitimately (legally, and with reason) exert violence as they do it for the for the collective benefit.
What did we have before the modern state?
Polycentrism (different power competing with each other), for example: Nobility vs church vs cities
Lack of monopoly on force so violence is decentralized (many can use legitimate violence). Customary laws (differently applied to different people). Troubled distinctions between private and public (territory seen by sovereigns as private property to be managed according to own private gain) which could cause territory disputes. Religious foundations
What was Hobbes’ goals regarding state power?
Main goal: trying to find a secular explanation of state power
Previous explanation was that state power (and other vertical power) came from a higher order. Hobbes based state power on scientific principles. This can be seen as early liberalism as it justifies why a given order is necessary, so state explain own existence to people (justify restriction and own power).
What is philosophical anthropology?
Wolf stated that “political philosophy begins with the study of human nature”. Which means that every political ideology starts with a conceptualization of what humans are and how they relate to each other.
What is human nature?
Self-knowledge: honest introspection on nature of thoughts, hopes and fears
Knowledge of general principles of physics: materialistic view. To understand human nature, need to understand matter from which we are made of (Materialism)
What is Hobbes’ anthropology?
Hobbes states that the body is material (a complex machine/engine made of many parts)
“What is the Heart, but a Spring; and the Nerves but so many Strings; and the Joints, but so many Wheels, giving motion to the whole Body …?” (Wolff, p. 9). He does not mention soul.
As a complex machine, we are also guided by the same laws that guide objects such as Galileo’s principle of conservation of motion.
How does Galileo relate to Hobbes?
Galileo’s principle of the conservation of motion: objects will continue to travel at a constant motion and direction until acted on by another force
Same for humans: we will stay in motion (always searching for something, never at rest) until acted upon another motion (i.e., desire). Tranquillity does not exist.
What does Hobbes say about life?
Life as motion: “A restless desire of Power after power that ceaseth only in death” (Hobbes quoted by Wolff, p. 10)
We are moved by felicity (success in achieving the objects of desire). And this search for felicity brings to war in state of nature (war of all against all)
How do we reach war according to Hobbes
We achieve felicity through power. So power means that you are always able to satisfy desires. Humans can never be satisfied, so, instead of searching for desires we search for power. Thus, power is no longer a means to achieve desires but the goal itself. “A restless desire of Power after power that ceaseth only in death” (Hobbes quoted by Wolf)
What is Hobbes view on the social dimension?
Social dimension causes discord amongst men.
Hobbes assumptions: Equality – scarcity – competition: we are equal => equal hopes of attaining goals but scarce resources => competition.
Humans are equal by nature (all equally capable of killing each other):
Equal hope and ability of gaining desires => scarce resources (Both can’t have it, only one can win) => can always lose desire to the other (uncertainty) => become enemies
Thus: Competition => general distrust
What you possess can be taken from you so you are always on guard
Strike first: reaction to attack before we are attacked (offence is the best defence)
According to Hobbe, what roles does reputation play in the social dimension of life?
People have a need for glory (reputation). Reputation of power is power itself. Reputation of power is power itself (honour and reputation as weapons).
People want to be regarded as highly as they regard themselves. Perceptions of disregard or undervalue => try and raise his value in the eyes of others => violence.
Reputation of power is power: can attack others (who are no threat) for future reputation
Never loose guard: those with strength are potential under attack of those who want to gain reputation.
According to Hobbes why would one attack in the state of nature?
For gain
For safety (prevent future attacks)
For glory or for reputation.
According to Hobbes why is there a war of all against all?
Equality in humans + scarce desires => no one is strong enough to always be defending and no one is weak enough to never attack => war of all against all
State of nature has morality, but this morality is just war against all (nothing can be unjust) so there is no notion of right and wrong or justice and injustice
According to Hobbes what is life without power?
State of nature: violent, desperate, fear, danger, war
How would you define the state of nature?
No one possesses political power => war of all against all
No government => human nature goes unchecked => sever conflict
Constant threat of violence
No civilization: no agriculture, economy or higher culture
No just or unjust (no morality)
Life as ‘poor, nasty, brutish, and short’
Is the state of nature real?
Not a historical concept: No consensus on whether there ever was a state of nature was => is it possible?
Thought experiment: given our nature (anthropology) what would a life without regulating power (state of nature) look like?
Hypothesis: power falls away => war and violence (can see this hypothesis in many post-apocalyptic media
But it has some empirical references
What evidence is there for the possibility of a state of nature?
Civil war
Distrust: we general have distrust of people (lock doors, hide bags, be careful of phones => state of nature behaviour)
State of war is not a constant fight but a constant readiness to fight
Hobbes perspective: those outside of Europe lived in state of nature
Relationship between states is mainly a state of nature: no governing power over them, no common regulation.
Nowadays: in line with his views (move for own desires => distrust/competition/scarcity)
Work floor without management/procedures, family without parents, etc. => all in state of nature
According to Hobbes, how do we escape the state of nature?
People desire to escape conflict (comfort, less fear/anxiety, fear of death). Men can escape the state of nature through these passions and through reason.
Passions: fear of death, desire for things that are necessary for comfortable living and a hope to obtain these by hard work.
Passions + Reason => peace treaty items people can agree on => Law of nature
What passions incline us towards peace?
Fear of death
Desire for things that are necessary for comfortable living
Hope to obtain things through hard work.
What is the law of nature?
In state of nature we are guided by the right of nature (can do whatever we think is relevant to protect ourselves, condition of human freedom) .
How? => Law of nature: command or general rule discovered by reason:
Seek peace and follow it. Cannot have it => can use all forms of war to achieve it
Once peace and self defence require it , lay down the right to everything (if others do so as well)
Men should perform the covenants (agreement) they make’
Source of Justice and Injustice (non-performance of a covenant)
