Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679) is one of the most important philosophers of the modern age. He was associated with the most advanced thinkers of his time, Galileo, Gassendi, and Descartes. He was the first thinker of modernity that, from a psychological and anthropological analysis, attempts to establish the need for the civil state (Collins 2013). This is the subject of his most famous political work Leviathan, which is a compendium of all his philosophical thoughts (Collins 2013). Hobbes makes observations…

used natural law to explain the aspects of humanity, it was these men’s ideas who were key to the era of Enlightenment and life beyond it. Born on April 5 1588, Thomas Hobbes came to be known as one of the greatest philosophers in the world. In his most famous work, the Leviathan, he sets forth his ideas on government and law. Thomas Hobbes believed that all humans were born with sin. He believed that all humans were evil, cruel, greedy, and selfish. Even though he thought we were naturally evil,…

Laviathan, Thomas Hobbes ' most important work and one of the most substantial philosophical texts of the Seventeenth century, was written largely as a response to the political violence and turmoil of England’s civil wars. In Leviathan, Hobbes, using science and reason as a foundation, attempts to create a concrete and methodological solution for peace and political stability. In the context of a historically violent and fear stricken period in which Leviathan was written, it…

interests under a common power. In Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury writes profoundly on the arrangement of legitimate government and the structure of society by calling to attention the constant vying for “power after power that ceaseth only in death” (Hobbes, 56). Through his depiction of human interactions, Hobbes claims that there is a perpetual longing for ease and protection, knowledge, and fame (Hobbes, 56-57). When desires are conflicting, Hobbes claims that there is fierce competition that…

Thomas Hobbes was a 17th century philosopher, who argued that human beings are fundamentally equal by nature, and we infer that humans live under the rule of absolute sovereign. “From that law of nature by which we are obliged to transfer to another such rights as, being retained, hinder the peace of mankind, there followeth a third, which is this that men perform their covenants made…” (Hobbes 89). Hobbes tries to hold back peace, in order to make it seem like everyone is equal. This can create…

In his book, Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes writes that human beings’ state of nature is one of constant war. He claims that man’s fundamental natural instinct is that of self-preservation, and that this leads to a violent, “every man for himself” sort of world in which there are no rules, no morals, and all persons have the freedom to do as they please. In other words: our state of nature is anarchy, rampant with chaos and conflict. The only viable alternative to this, Hobbes argues, is voluntary subjection…

It could be argued that Thomas Hobbes’s claim in Leviathan that a person has no right to challenge his sovereign’s law or decision is flawed because such judgements should serve public good. Since the sovereign power’s authority to make laws or decisions has its source in its subjects, these judgements should reflect what subjects think to be good or evil, instead of prescribing how people should think. However, this argument does not take into account that although there are cases where people can…

The source which will be analysed is the frontispiece of Thomas Hobbes most famous work ‘Leviathan’ and ‘Leviathan’ as a whole. The frontispiece is considered as prominent as the arguments put forth by Thomas Hobbes in the ‘Leviathan’ itself. The frontispiece depicts a crowned figure grasping a crosier and a sword. This figure, or ‘Leviathan’, represents the all-powerful, comprehensive state. When looked at closely, the torso and arms of the figure are made up of hundreds of individual people, who…

English philosopher, Thomas Hobbes’, leviathan consists of three parts. The second part, titled “Of Commonwealth”, describes a government Hobbes refers to as the “leviathan”; which is simply defined as “something that is very large and powerful”. Biblically, “leviathan” is defined negatively, as a devilish sea monster. On the contrary, Hobbes uses the term to portray his version of the ideal government. Hobbes emphasizes the concept of human nature. He explains that there are both negative and…

Most important among the many big ideas in Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan and Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations are those that deal with human nature and how to create and maintain social order. In this paper, I will argue Hobbes’ lack of optimism, and Smith’s lack of pessimism in their theories of human nature, and will also discuss how our idea of social order changes once these aspects are taken into consideration. Hobbes’ theory of human nature begins with the statement that all men are created…