Corruption, false votes, unearned “donated” money; law breaking, lies, and hypocrisy are just some of the few factors that can be caused by a person’s human nature and therefore cause political instability. Nicollò Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes, two philosophers from the sixteenth and seventeenth century respectively, each have their own definitions of human nature and why human nature is always going to be a conflict and therefore lead to political instability. Human nature is an important concept to study when it comes to politics because if people know that there exists evil in man, such as being selfish, we can learn how to control it in order to create political stability. Hobbes declares that humans are selfish and only concerned …show more content…
To become enemies is the conclusion Hobbes says, and then the men will fight and attempt to harm one another. Hobbes addresses such times as war.
According to Hobbes, (Curley 2012, 76) “Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where every man is enemy to every man, the same consequent to the time wherein men live without other security than what their own strength and their own invention shall furnish them withal. In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
On the contrary, Machiavelli believes that man should look out for himself and no one else; he believes that men are only concerned with their own self-interest anyways. Human nature is a concept that Machiavelli really mocks in a sense in that he sets guidelines in exactly what a prince needs to be in order to be successful. He states that the prince should be the one and only sole authority, and he must be trustworthy and cause fear in order to have
With these natural causes of quarrel, Hobbes concludes that the natural condition of humans is a state of perpetual war of all against all, where no morality exists, and everyone lives in constant fear (p.45). He believes that humans have three motivations for ending this state of war: the fear of death, the desire to have an adequate living and the hope to attain this through one’s labor (p.47). These beliefs become valid because of the use of his examples. One example suggests that people are barbaric to each other. With the absence of international law, strong countries prey on the weakness of weak countries. I believe that his views of moral behavior are very true. Like Hobbes said, people are out for their well-being. If I were to do a favor for someone, I may think I am helping someone out, which I am, but I am probably doing the favor because it is going to make me feel better. It is going to benefit my well being. Hobbes is a famous philosopher whose views were very controversial. But the fact that he lived in a time when the monarchy was the “divine right of kings” (p.42), makes his views valid today. With a different government and new laws, his views appear to be true.
Thomas Hobbes then begins to explain that what any one man has another may take at will. Some men take pleasure in the conquest of what belongs to another and will take more than they need, while others are content with the bare essentials. Hobbes states that, because it is in man's nature to increase his own power it should be “allowed.” Hobbes states that there are three causes for quarrels between men, the first being competition and the want for man to gain from another through violence. The second is diffidence, or a lack of confidence in one’s own ability of worth which in turn causes men to fight for safety, perhaps to distract another from his insecurities. The third is for the sake of glory, or to secure his reputation. Thomas Hobbes says that, because all men have a natural animalistic inclination to fight for what we want and believe we deserve, a “common power”, a government or hierarchy of some sort, is vital to maintaining a semblance of peace. Hobbes muses that, without security outside of us there will be no industry or commodities, no modern comforts, no society. Without someone to lord over us in some way our future will be one of “continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short…” (pg. 48). And, while we enjoy the
His answer allows us to reach the core of his political theory found in chapter 13 of Leviathan. The chapter opens with his bold proclamation; “Nature hath made men so equal” (Hobbes Ch. 13, 76). Hobbes is expressing a simple statement. We are all beings of desire and we all seek ways, through power, to satisfy those desires. In Hobbes eyes, we are all somewhat equal, yet some are stronger or smarter. However, all humans have weaknesses and therefore all humans are equally vulnerable. Hobbes illustrates this point as follows:
In other words Machiavelli says that human nature praises certain qualities and blame others, but there is no way that humans can do all the good things while avoiding the bad things. What makes a "good prince" in the eyes of Machiavelli is one that figures out how to not take so much blame when he does wrong, and tries to do as many good things as he can. For example regarding generosity and miserliness, Machiavelli says to be considered truly generous, one must be miserly at times:"A prince, therefore, being unable to use his virtue of generosity in a manner which will not harm himself... should, if he is wise, not worry about being called a miser; for with time, he will come to be considered more generous..." (53) In one final contrast, according to Machiavelli in regards to courage and cowardice, mercy and treachery he says "That every prince must desire to be considered merciful and not cruel; never the less, he must take care not to misuse this mercy...Therefore, a prince must not worry about the reproach of cruelty, when it is a matter of keeping his subjects united and loyal" (55). According to Machiavelli,
Thomas Hobbes believes that humans are naturally unkind. In the module, it portrays his views of man as, "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short". He argues that without a monarchy, social-conflict and disorder will surely ensue. Hobbes’ genuinely thinks that the role of government is to save man from their natural ways of war and conflict with one another.
Machiavelli’s interpretation of human nature was greatly shaped by his belief in God. In his writings, Machiavelli conceives that humans were given free will by God, and the choices made with such freedom established the innate flaws in humans. Based on that, he attributes the successes and failure of princes to their intrinsic weaknesses, and directs his writing towards those faults. His works are rooted in how personal attributes tend to affect the decisions one makes and focuses on the singular commanding force of power. Fixating on how the prince needs to draw people’s support, Machiavelli emphasizes the importance of doing what is best for the greater good. He proposed that working toward a selfish goal, instead of striving towards a better state, should warrant punishment. Machiavelli is a practical person and always thought of pragmatic ways to approach situations, applying to his notions regarding politics and
Thomas Hobbes describes his views on human nature and his ideal government in Leviathan. He believes human nature is antagonistic, and condemns man to a life of violence and misery without strong government. In contrast to animals, who are able to live together in a society without a coercive power, Hobbes believes that men are unable to coexist peacefully without a greater authority because they are confrontational by nature. “In the nature of man”, Hobbes says “there are three principal causes of quarrel: first, competition; secondly, diffidence, thirdly, glory” and then he goes on to list man’s primary aims for each being gain, safety and reputation (Hobbes, Leviathan, 13, 6).
In this essay I will prove that Hobbes’ makes a good argument in his book Leviathan in paragraph eight on page eighty-four when he states that, “during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war; and such a war as is of everyman, against everyman. For war consisteth not in battle only or the act of fighting; but in a tract of time, wherein the will to content by battle is sufficiently known: and therefore the notion of time is to be considered in the nature of war, as it is in the nature of weather” (p. 84). I will prove this by identifying his main argument, his main premises and his final conclusion. I will then prove that his argument is logically strong and that it ties
In summary, Hobbes’ assumptions on human nature are not fool proof, and even if they were, it does not follow that the State of Nature would be as terrible as he thinks. He does not take into account the positive characteristics of human nature, which would let us counteract the negative ones and avoid violence. Moreover, it is unclear what he defines as society breaking down. Indeed, his argument seems to rely on an apocalyptic scenario.
Since there is this constant struggle to get what you want, protect what you already have, and attain power and glory, all men are continuously in a state of what Hobbes deems war. It is a civil war because there isn’t a common power to rule everyone as every man is for himself. This perpetual civil war makes it pretty much impossible for anyone to function productively let alone make any kind of developments whatsoever. This chaotic state is what Hobbes calls the ‘state of nature’:
In the state of nature, people were always at war with one another, a war of all against all. Every person had the right to do anything they pleased. Hobbes thought that this would go on until people discovered that they could prevent their demise by avoiding doing things that would purposely endanger their lives.
This leads us to Hobbes’ view on the natural state of humans. He believes that without a common power to govern them, men are in a condition of war. In this state, all men are other men’s enemies. This brings rise to the idea ‘Everyone is governed by his own reason…in preserving his life against
Hobbes suggests three causes of the nature of man. First, competition; Second, Diffidence; third, glory. Human exercise violence first to gain their desire, and secondly to defend their gains, and lastly for one’s own reputation. On the ground that we are all in a state of war, Hobbes states, “In such conditions, there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain…no knowledge of the face of the earth, no account of time, no arts, no letters, NO SOCIETY, and which is worst of all, continual fear and danger of violent death…” (Leviathan, XIII). Therefore, the idea of justice or injustice cannot have a place in our society where there is no power.
Amidst the bloodshed of the English Civil War, Thomas Hobbes realizes the chaotic state of humanity, which gravitates towards the greatest evil. Hobbes’ underlying premises of human nature–equality, egotism, and competition–result in a universal war among men in their natural state. In order to escape anarchy, Hobbes employs an absolute sovereignty. The people willingly enter a social contract with one another, relinquishing their rights to the sovereign. For Hobbes, only the omnipotent sovereign or “Leviathan” will ensure mankind’s safety and security. The following essay will, firstly, examine Hobbes’ pessimistic premises of human nature (equality, egotism, and competition), in contrast with John Locke’s charitable views of humanity;
Hobbes believed that in nature people had to do whatever was necessary to survive and that even if living together, people were still likely to fight. His view of people was dark and most likely due to the horrors of a series of political schemes and armed conflicts he had seen during the English Civil War. He believed that a contract was necessary. Hobbes felt that people were not capable of living in a democratic society. Instead, a single dominant ruler was needed, and if everyone did their part, then the community would function smoothly. Hobbes’ theory is unlike Locke and Rousseau’s. He believed that once the people gave power to the government, the people gave up the right to that power. It would essentially be the cost of the safety the people were seeking.