THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA
SOCIAL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
INSTITUTE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION /DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
NAME : SELVAC HANG’ANDU
COURSE CODE : PH 101
COURSE NAME : POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
COMPUTER NO. : 12116173
QUESTION : List and explain six differences and six similarities between the political philosophy of John Locke and that of Tomas Hobbes.
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were philosophers from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The two men both had very strong views on freedom and how a country should be governed. Their view points are famous for contrasting one another. Hobbes has more of a pessimistic view on freedom while Locke’s opinions are more optimistic.
This paper will
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Hence a situation where everyman is the enemy of every other endeavoring to destroy or subdue him by force or fraud or both. But such a state is even less in conformity with human desires than what most of us know .It is Hobbes famous words a state where the life of man is solitary poor, nasty ,brutish and short. The fear of such a state of things calls into action as a servant of the most fundamental of all the passions, that of self-preservation, at least a modicum of reason which finds a solution of the difficulty in social contract. By its terms men agreed to give up their natural liberty to sovereign authority which in turn gurantees them security, that is immunity from aggression by the force or fraud of others. It is only through authority of this sovereign that the war of all against all is held in check and order and security is maintained. (Talcott persons: 91).
In modern times, Tomas Hobbes defined right to life as natural rights which even the sovereign of the state could not jeopardize. But the name of John Locke is important who treated three rights (relating to life, liberty and property) as natural rights. Effective protection of the natural rights is the responsibility of the state .In case the sovereign authority is capable of fulfilling the trust of the people, the contract may be chosen instead for securing effective protection of natural rights. (J.C.Johari, 1989:136)
STATE OF NATURE BY 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
Locke and Hobbes started with a central notion that people with similar “state of nature” would on their own accord come together as a state. Locke believed that individual would not perpetually be at war with each other. He believed humans began with a state of natural characteristics of absolute freedom with no government in site. Hobbes work differs from that of Locke’s because he felt people needed a strong central authority to ward off the inherent evil and anarchic state of man. Locke believed that within the state of nature man would have stronger morals and thus limit their actions. Locke also, credited people with the ability to do the right thing within a group. And the natural rights and civil society where Hobbes differentiated with this by believing that people had to resolve their natural rights and the their were privileges granted by the sovereign. Locke believed the relationship between citizens and government took the form of a social contract, in which in exchange for order and protections provided by institutions the citizens agree to surrender some of the freedoms within the state of nature. This was also, agreed that power of the state was not absolute but exercised according to law. If broken by the state it forfeits and the contract becomes void. This allots for the citizens of the state to have a “voice” and power for change to replace the government with moral obligation by the governed. Hobbes believed absolute power was the price man should
While both men believe that the good in human nature is maintained through some higher form of governing, Locke has trust and confidence in the good of man and believes in limited monarchy, whereas Hobbes promotes a tough sovereign-led government to avoid a continuous state of war.
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are two of most important philosophers whose writing have had a major impact on Farmers of the U.s Constitution. Even though both Hobbes and Locked were well known for their social contracts and natural law theories, they both have very different approaches to the where they stand and their conclusion in several laws of nature. Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher from Malmesbury while John Locke was from Wrighton, Somerset.
Socrates thought that you always have to follow the rules and law in the state that one lives in. King did agree with this idea, but his concern about it was if the law that is granted to them are balanced or even satisfying to everyone that follow the law. Hobbes things that the higher law that states the truth of a universal, has for a moral calling for the society. This moral calling allowed the citizens a to make sure that the laws and rules that were written are correct for the rest of them and their towns. Hobbes also says to break the rules for your nature, even if you end up in jail or trouble in the end. John Locke idea and thoughts were seen to be in between Socrates and Hobbes ideas and thoughts. One thing John Locke believed was that we are all equal and thinks that is okay to rebel at times but not to get in any real
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were both English philosophers,influential thinkers of the seventeenth century, both had confidence in a Social Contract and they both distributed books that were generally perused. Thomas Hobbes talked about and built up the social contract
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are comparable in their basic political ideologies about man and their rights in the state of nature before they enter a civil society. Their political ideas are very much similar in that regard. The resemblance between Hobbes and Locke’s philosophies are based on a few characteristics of the state of nature and the state of man. Firstly, in the state of nature both Hobbes and Locke agree that all men are created equal, but their definitions of equality in the state of nature slightly differ. According to Locke, “…in the state of nature… no one has power over another…” Locke’s version or idea of equality in the state of
John Locke embraced many of the ideas presented by Hobbes in his theories on the state of nature and the rise of government. They differed however, in that Locke believed that God was the prime factor in politics. He believed that individuals were born with certain rights given not by government or society, but by God. This he said, is what gives all people equality.
John Locke and Thomas Hobbes were two main political philosophers during the seventeenth century. Hobbes is largely known for his writing of the “Leviathan”, and Locke for authoring "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding." Included in their essays, both men discuss the purpose and structure of government, natural law, and the characteristics of man in and out of the state of nature. The two men's opinion of man vary widely. Hobbes sees man as being evil, whereas Locke views man in a much more optimistic light. While in the state of nature and under natural law, they both agree that man is equal. However, their ideas of natural law differ
I believe both Hobbes and Locke are similar in the way that both of their theories are based on the natural state of human, a situation where everyone is entirely free because there is no interference of laws, but where man fears for their survival on a daily bases. They both agreed that a ruler of some sort appeared absolutely necessary for people, without
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;
Compare and contrast Hobbes’s and Locke’s views of the state of nature and the fundamental purpose of political society. Whose view is the more plausible? Why?
In this essay, the contrasting ideas of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke on liberty will be discussed and critically analyzed.
Hobbes and Locke are the founders of social contract theory, Hobbes’ Leviathan was the first political philosophy to discuss social contract theory and the state of nature followed by John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, both of their theories are distinct form each other but yet related. Hobbes and lock are both considered the first classical liberals, they differed from other classical philosophers because of their individualistic society, rather than a communal society that promotes the moral way to live one’s life. According to classical liberalism the government should not promote morality, rather to only protect people’s rights to pursue their desires. They both believed that man was born free and equal, and has the right to choose who governs them. Hobbes believed in a minimalist government that promotes the rights of individuals to life and freedom of movements, while Locke also believes in an even more limited government that promotes life liberty and property.
While these two great philosophers do not share the same political ideology, there were a couple of ideas that the two did agree upon. Hobbes and Locke both believed in the Social Contract, which is the idea that individuals give up certain rights to be protected by the government. Hobbes describes the Social Contract as the mutual transferring of rights. (Lloyd, 2014) Where the