Of Aristotle And Hobbes Ideas About The Origin And Purpose Of Political Life

What is government? Government is the governing body of nation, state, or community. Government determines the way any group of people are ran. There a several different types of government used all around the world. In the United States for example, uses a type of government that has three different branches of power. The Legislative Branch is the law making branch. The Judicial branch is the courts and the low enforcement. Lastly, the Executive branch is the presidential branch. “Each has its own responsibilities and at the same time they work together to make the country run smoothly and to assure that the rights of citizens are not ignored or disallowed.” (Osborne) Usually, governments break up the responsibilities into two or more groups. Two very influential writers wrote about their views on government; Lao-tzu and Machiavelli. These writers were in very different times which makes it very interesting to compare their views. Lao-tzu and Machiavelli had very different views on the ultimate purpose of government, the obligations of government leaders, and the main work of the state.

Societies developed into states and governments. To define state its a ‘’political creation that has the recognized authority to use and maintain a monopoly on the use of force within a clearly defined jurisdiction. ’’ While a government is a political institution of the state it uses organization, bureaucracy, and formality to regulate social interactions.

Government is an essential part of civilization in modern and historic times. This crucial element of society has been observed in different forms. There are three main systems of governments: autocracy, oligarchy, and democracy. Which system a government belongs to is determined by who hold the sovereignty, meaning who has the supreme power and authority (“Sovereignty”). This leads to there being major differences between autocracies, oligarchies, and democracies.

According to Oxford Dictionaries, the word government means “the governing body of a nation, state, or community”. There are also several types of government such as a republic, democracy, dictatorship, and many more. Depending on the type of government, they have control over everyone and everything. Unfortunately, some leaders take advantage of their power which leads the government to have a negative reputation.

Government is a system or form of rule which a community, state, etc. is governed. There are many different types of government: democracy, republic, monarchy, aristocracy, and dictatorship. These are the common forms of government. One specific principle of government is federalism. Federalism explains the separation of powers between the national government and the state government. In order to ensure that each individual’s rights are protected, they created federalism to help ensure that the government does not have all of the power. One example of federalism is freeways. The government provides the basic guidelines and supplies the states with funds, but they are owned and operated by the states themselves. The Separation of Powers is a

Government is an administration defined by the Constitution, but is also a constantly adjusting foundation by the efforts of its citizens. By Litherland (2014), government is defined as policies set in order to lead a body of people (p. 395). Over the span of time, the idea of government has been stretched, changed, and applied to various communities throughout both the nation and the world. Whether it was back in the eighteenth century, current, or in the very near future—government has existed and will continue to exist for its people and the nation it has built its foundation upon. With the use of multiple authors, those of: “Difference between Direct and Representative Democracy” (n.d.), “Federalism - Dividing Power between States and the

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

When I think about a political community, I usually associate it with elections, politicians, and advertisements that bad mouth candidates from the different political parties. Politicians try to persuade citizens to vote for them by making promises that they may never fulfill. But a political community is more than that. A comparison of Aristotle and John Locke’s nature and purpose of a political community has given me a new insight. I learned that, even though the political community is responsible to provide security, its main purpose is aimed for the highest good of all its citizens, which is virtue and happiness.

Aristotle and Hobbes present two fundamentally distinct doctrines about the conception of politics, human affairs, and the nature of man. Specifically, both philosophers express vying interpretations of human nature. Even though Aristotle and Hobbes similarly use their understanding of human nature to conceptualize their politics, they both express differing views about the aims for which they believe human beings act and exist. In a rather preliminary interpretation of their views, it can be said that, for Aristotle, man is inherently social, and thereby is naturally inclined towards the community. Whereas, for Hobbes, man is innately individualistic, and is naturally inclined towards self-interest. The distinction between the Aristotelian and the Hobbesian philosophies about human nature rests in their respective explanations of what means and ends drive human action and existence. In the first half of this paper, I will discuss the ways in which Aristotle’s and Hobbes’ conception of human nature differ from one another. In a discussion of equality, I will compare Aristotle’s view of the flexibility of man’s nature, to Hobbes’ view of the intransigence of man in the state of nature, while also comparing Aristotle’s view of collectivity, to Hobbes’ view of individualism. The second half of my paper will argue that Aristotle’s teleological view of human nature presents a more superior and accurate account of human

The key differences in the views of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke on the purpose of government lie within their contrasting views of the natural human state. Hobbes believed that people are naturally selfish, only acting in their own best interest, while Locke believed that people are naturally good, meaning that they can be trusted to govern themselves. Due to their differing beliefs regarding innate human state, their ideas regarding government varied greatly -- the two men were practically opposites. Hobbes believed that, due to their inborn selfish nature, people could not be trusted with democratic rule. Due to this fact, Hobbes argued for absolute authority to be given to one man, like a king. Hobbes believed that government is meant to

Compare Aristotle’s Claim that Man is a ‘Political Animal’ with Hobbe’s Claim that the State of Nature is a State of War.

A logical starting point in an investigation of legitimate government would seem to be an account of the original purpose of government. Problems arise, though, in discovering this original purpose; any and all attempts seem to consist of mere speculation. Government is a social convention created by man.* It is doubtful whether or not there can ever be an empirically accurate account of the

The subject which the question focuses on is the view of Aristotle’s ideal state. The distinction between hierarchy and equality is at the heart of the understanding of Aristotle’s ideal state. He claims that an ideal state ought to be arranged to maximise the happiness of its citizens. So happiness together with political action is the telos of human life. This end can be reached by living a better ethical life. However, he endorses hierarchy over equality. On one hand we have the equality which benefits everyone; on the other hand we have the distinction of classes meant in terms of diversities and differences where the middle one appears to be the means through which the state is balanced. Furthermore what is clear for Aristotle is that

He started out on the philosophy of political science while on his trips and visits to other countries outside of England to listen to other scientists and learn different forms of government. While studying, Thomas Hobbes wondered about why people were allowing themselves to be ruled and what would a great form of government for England. He reasoned that people were naturally wicked and shouldn’t be trusted to govern themselves because they were selfish creatures and would do anything to better their position and social status. These people, when left alone will go back to their evil impulses to get a better advantage over others. So Thomas Hobbes concluded that the best form of government would an absolute monarchy, which is a government which gives all power to the king or queen to provide direction and leadership to make sure the country doesn’t go into turmoil.

People's soul are made up of several parts, as will be shown along the way, each man's main concern and occupation in life should be to build harmony and unity. Politics is the way a person expresses how his or her order in life can be used for everyone, the image of their own inner order or disorder reflected in his social life. A person cannot live alone, because one is a social animal, one must act; politics becomes an important part of the mind. Politics are simply the means of bringing order into the world of men through laws that are the product of rational nature. It is the ultimate concern of the philosopher, the one of wisdom, to bring this order forward.