Hobbes Flashcards
What did he write?
The leviathan
When did he write it?
1651
What was the context that prompted him to write?
The English Civil War, a conflict between the Parliamentarians (Roundheads) and the Royalists (Cavaliers), deeply divided England along political, religious, and social lines. Hobbes witnessed the violence and chaos of the civil war firsthand, and it profoundly influenced his views on the necessity of strong government (absolute monarchy) to prevent such conflicts
What is his main goal?
To argue that humans are best off living in a society, and that there needs to be a powerful ruler to maintain peace.
What is a Leviathan?- The Literal meaning, his meaning?
Literal: biblical term meaning great sea creature. Hobbes’s: meant to be a metaphor describing the power a cohesive society can have.
What is a social contract?
Individuals living within a territory are bound together by the pacts and covenants (contracts) that we make with each other and with our government.
These contracts can be explicit, or implicit (tacit consent is given) simply by living within that territory.
Where do our religious ideas come from?
our inquisitiveness- a need or want to explain the causes of events, the cause of origins.
What are humans like in a state of nature?
Continued state of warfare, all equal in terms of wisdom, no morality, scarce ressources, self-interest
What happens when 2 people want the same thing they cannot share?
Disputed by way of quarrel
Reasons to quarrel
- gain: the want to the master of other men, their wives, children and cattle
- safety: defense
- glory: fight for honour and reputation
- How does he describe a state of nature?
“Like dark clouds of rain, the ever looming disposition of war is present”
Can there be ideas of justice and injustice in a state of nature? Why or why not?
There cannot be injustice because there is no law, therefore injustice does not exist. Justice only exists in society, not in solitude.
Could there be private property in a state of nature? Why or why not?
No there isn’t private property because nothing belongs anyone. One may only use property while they keep it.
What is the First Law of Nature?
the liberty each man has to use his own power, for the preservation of his own nature- his own life by his own faculties of reason. This can be observed through the making of contracts.
