John Locke Over Thomas Hobbes

John Locke and Thomas Hobbes are one of the most influential and famous philosophers who both had similar theories but had different conclusions. The two philosophers wrote a discourse “life in the state of nature” and argued about the government. They both had made important and logical contributions to modern philosophy and opened up political thoughts which have impacted our world today. During the seventeenth century the thought of political philosophy became a big topic. John Locke and Thomas Hobbes both started questioning the political philosophy and had had different views and reasoning towards human beings. Both Hobbes and Locke had logical and reasonable theories in which they had opposed to one another. Although each philosopher

Hobbes believed that people each have their own ideas of right and wrong, and that there is no way to tell if a person’s version of right and wrong is universally right or wrong. Practically, that each person will create their own rationalization and will even kill another person for physical safety or securing

Change is in the inevitable byproduct of society. As societies evolve they change according to the life style of the people who inhabit them. Without change, society would never progress and thus would be frozen in a single moment in time. Thomas Hobbes and John Lock were two English philosophers who observed tremendous changes in English politics between the years of 1640 and 1690. In closely examining the views of both of these philosophers in subject areas such as the nature of man in society, the relationship between a society and its government, and the affect that both philosophers’ novels had on the government, it can be concluded that both Hobbes and Locke’s philosophies created prominent change in the methods of government.

Hobbes goes into a lot of detail concerning man’s interactions with one another including ways in which man can seek to live "together in Peace, and Unity" (page 69). However, Hobbes focuses on the interactions of man seeking the same goal. In any system of limited resources, "Competition of

Both Thomas Hobbes and John Locke have impacted politics in a way that has affected how the world is today. These two individuals have shaped government as we now know it by introducing the idea of popular contract, which states that the government gets its power from the people.These two men are very similar in some ways. They were both educated men who believed that government is a necessity. However, they had very different views on life. Hobbes view was a darker view. He says that men form government as a method of self-preservation, that they are fearful for their lives, so they form a government as a means of protection. He believes that government is based on fear. Men who are scared to go into battle will go because they are more scared

However, they both believed that man needs a government in order to keep their country from falling apart. Also, each of them was able to impact society. While Hobbes impacted the English and French government at the time, who both had a monarchy, Locke's ideas influenced the United States Constitution. In sum, Locke and Hobbes were both brilliant philosophers who disagreed on core beliefs about human nature, society and government but each were able to influence the world around them and the

Thomas Locke and James Hobbes had different views of government. Hobbes believed in a Monarch as government. Meanwhile Locke believed in a democracy government. An absolute monarchy has one ruler as the higher authority. The form of government has control upon everything they do with small limitation of the law. Power is invested in a sovereign state with only one ruler. A democracy is a form of government to where the people have the power. Democracies are based upon the law.

1. Compare and contrast Hobbes and Locke on political power? In answering this question explain Locke’s argument against Hobbes’s understanding of “paternal” and despotical power.

Thomas Hobbes will call for a form of government in which the people would yield all of their rights and have little to no freedom of their own. In Hobbes mind, these men will freely give up many freedoms to escape the chaotic and selfish state of nature. He believes that this is the only viable option for men because of his understanding of the self-serving and desperate nature of men. Hobbes will specify that the relinquishing of power is important to lower the chances of an uprising of the ruled, which he believes, will revert men to this “state of nature.” Hobbes would go on the write that the men being ruled should have no religious freedom to prevent uprisings as well. Locke will have a much different solution to the issues of living in nature. The proposition made by Locke differs from the absolute monarchy called for by Hobbes. In the society Locke calls for the focus is to maintain the natural rights he specifies in his understanding of nature, these rights are ones of, life, liberty, and possession. The ruler should be held accountable for and by the ones he serves and when acting against these rights should be replaced, according to

you will see in this document is why Thomas thinks that all humans are selfish

Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were two English thinkers in the seventeenth-century who 's ideas became a key to the Enlightenment. Baron de Montesquieu and Voltaire were philosophers who applied the methods of science to understand and improve society. Thomas Hobbes believed in a powerful government. He believed people were naturally cruel, greedy, and selfish, and if they were not strictly controlled they would commit crimes and abuse one another. He believed that life with no government would be horrible and in order to escape the horrible life that one had to sign a social contract, which was an agreement were the people gave up their freedom for an organized society. He also believed that only a powerful government could guarantee a

Political theory in the seventeenth-century was a very controversial time especially within the governments that were prominent during this era. Many philosophers and political thinkers debated the aspects of government and the overall nature that influenced humans to think in certain ways. In today’s time period the majority of political issues are debated upon within the democratic and republican parties that are put in place within the government in the United States, but in the seventeenth-century in England, conflicting viewpoints were best exploited by the writings of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. John Locke took a more respectable approach to his thinking which is more applicable in today’s society, which will be explained through each of their life events and reasons for their thinking strategies.

As a result of the 17th century English Revolution, a radically changing government led English writers, philosophers, and politicians to expand upon the notion of human nature, based on their own beliefs and experiences. Two of these renowned English thinkers, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, embodied the rising movement of using reason to make judgments on government, society, and the role of the king. Despite approaching the question of human nature with similar foundations, The State of Equality, Hobbes and Locke develop entirely opposing arguments, reflected in their position supporting and opposing an absolute monarch, respectively. Many of the most notable distinctions between Hobbes’ and Locke’s philosophies, namely concerning

Philosophers have always toyed with questions regarding humans in their natural state and reasons for forming contracts. Two thinkers who have risen to the forefront of this debate are Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and John Locke (1632-1704). Despite their relative following, these two philosophers stand in stark opposition to one another with regards to human nature and the purpose of sacrificing individual rights to form governments. Where Hobbes believes humans are driven simply by a desire to acquire more that can only be contained through a supreme power, Locke sees people striving to augment their freedom through forming political societies. Yet when juxtaposed, it easily becomes clear that Locke has made a better case, as he accounts for peoples’ abilities to rationalize for themselves and the interconnectedness found between persons under a shared contract.

To continue this thought process with Rights. Hobbes thought you conceded your rights to the government, in return for your life. That People are born with rights that they relinquish to the monarch in return for protection, this is known as social contract. Again this view is that good comes from the government down to the people. Hobbes augments kind of makes since in a way, we down give of some privacy rights for example the NSA Spying program or when we fly, but get search by the TSA beforehand. While Locke thought men have rights by their nature, and came up with the idea that all people are born with certain inalienable rights; life, liberty, the right to own property. We see this very argument in today’s government, when issues about National Security come up. The NSA spying program, one side says that people are going to have to give up there rights in order to be protected, while the other side thinks that people have the right to privative at all times.