preview

Thomas Hobbes Discourse On Children

Decent Essays
Open Document

mentioned by Montgomery and Woodhead (2003: 64), philosopher John Locke believed that children were blank slates and as they would grow, become educated and exposed to the adult world, they would eventually ‘become’ not only an adult, but themselves. According to Locke, it was a matter of time and growth for children, as they would eventually learn to be well-behaved and active citizens. In contrast, there is the idea of the ‘evil’ child, wherein children get up to mischief and disorder if they are not watched, controlled and kept in line. This view was particularly supported by philosopher Thomas Hobbes, who believed that children were engulfed in sin, who must be kept in line and be subjected to discipline if they attempted to go against authority. Referring back to the example given earlier, the media portrayed Jon Venables and Robert Thompson as undeniably evil; with certain newspapers such as the Sun using the headline ‘The Devil Himself Couldn’t Have Made A Better Job Of Two Fiends’ showcasing the public …show more content…

This causes a problem as it can lead to too much focus on the children’s futures instead of focusing on their development and their shaping from young people to adults. The second criticism of this idea is that it suggests that children are not capable of doing much or anything, but an adult is, purely because they have transitioned from a child to an adult. This view can undermine their intelligence and make them inferior to adults if their opinions or views are not taken into account or they are deemed too young to know or are not capable of

Get Access