Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were very different Enlightenment philosophers.They had many similarities and differences on what form of government they should form for the people.For example Thomas Hobbes believed in a powerful government,and John Locke believed in a limited government where the government should protect the people’s natural rights. Both of these philosophers were seventeen century enlightenment thinkers.Thomas Hobbes and John Locke had very different points of view on how the government should be formed for the people.…
After analyzing how Locke and Hobbes understand the state of nature it is evident that they share many ideas but they also show essential differences in their ideas. Hobbes regards the state of nature as a state of war, in which natural law is established only after a process of reasoning. This process leads men to the conclusion that they must somehow find…
John Locke main idea was every individual’s equal rights and fairly equal government. Locke believed that the individuals of the same species and rank should be treated equally within one another without subjection or subordination. He says that all men are naturally in “a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature…” he is saying that men have the right to control their own freedom. Locke appears in recommend the legislative and executive branches to the right to create a new government if the old one fails. Locke wrote these words in 1689 and it had an impact in the declaration of independence 8 years later. This shows that John Locke’s ideas had an effect on our government today. (Document A)…
Throughout history, people have debated about what government is, and what is the purpose of it. Should the government dictate people's lives and tell them what to do? Should the government be permissive and just allow the people take care of themselves and not step in? Should there be an in between? Two very influential philosophers from the 17th century Enlightenment, John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, are preeminent influences on how people see what a government is and what role it should take. They both were renowned influences in many governments, even to this day. Locke took the side that people are naturally good, and that they should rule themselves. While on the other hand, Hobbes said that humans are naturally brutish and evil,…
For Hobbes, the need of an outright power, as a Sovereign, took after from the utter ruthlessness of the State of Nature. The State of Nature was totally grievous, thus objective men would will to submit themselves even to outright power with a specific end goal to escape it. For John Locke, 1632-1704, the State of Nature is an altogether different sort of spot, thus his contention concerning the social contract and the way of men's relationship to power are subsequently entirely distinctive. While Locke uses Hobbes' methodological gadget of the State of Nature, as do for all intents and purposes all social contract scholars, he utilizes it to a very distinctive end. Locke's contentions for the social contract, and for the privilege of residents…
Locke agrees with Hobbes that the purpose of government is to create order in society but contends that people are reasonable and would cooperate with each other and could rebel if ruler were tyrant. Ruler stays in power only as long as he has consent of those governed. He said people had natural rights, including right to life,…
John Locke believed that every man has natural rights that include the right to live and the right to property. He also said people should have freedom and that no man should be a slave. This could have influenced Declaration of Independence because it says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This shows that they both thought people were equal and should have access to basic rights such as life.…
Lord of the Flies: Hobbes vs. Locke In the novel, Lord of The Flies by William Golding, several young boys are stranded on an island and must maintain civilization on their own with no real authority. Their attempt at maintaining a peaceful and civilized state between each other can help to explain the theories of philosophy stated by Jack Hobbes and John Locke. In Locke’s philosophy, he states that people are naturally good. He believes that is in our nature, as humans, to be good people and do what it is that we know is right and what we are told is right.…
Hobbes believed in a social contract, an implicit understanding between government and governed. His ideal government would be an absolute monarchy that holds power like a leviathan, a sea monster. John Locke, also an English philosopher, believed that people…
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were to philosophers with opposing opinions on human nature and the state of nature. Locke saw humanity and life with optimism and community, whereas Hobbes only thought of humans as being capable of living a more violent, self-interested lifestyle which would lead to civil unrest. However, both can agree that in order for either way of life to achieve success there must be a sovereign.…
Both Hobbes and Locke shared similarities within their political theories; however their theories also had some major differences. Both men were responding to the crisis of the 17th century and they were highly influenced by the scientific revolution. Hobbes and Locke rejected all previous theories regarding human nature. They used the same methodology, and the men accepted an atomistic view of society. They believed that individuals were rational and were motivated by self-interest. Hobbes and Locke traced their theories from a state of nature to the social contract. They agreed that the legitimacy of the government rested on the consent of the governed. Together, both men rejected legitimate political authorities such as Divine Right of Kings, brute force, historical tradition, and feudal contracts. Both political philosophers offered interesting arguments pertaining to government, human nature, and the state of nature.…
Locke agreed with Hobbes on certain things but he also disagreed with him too. He wrote in the second treatise of government that man need to be governed by a ruler. John Locke is also famously known by what he believed in which was life, liberty, and property. These were the natural rights of man given by the government and if the government took away these rights, man has a reason to overthrow the government. As said before the idea that Locke said and believed influenced Thomas Jefferson to write the declaration of independence.…
Locke believed that people are born a free human being. His main idea is his writing was that if a government should fail the people of the country have the right to become or create a new government. The same rules apply if the citizens decide the government is using their power in the wrong ways. As well as the other philosophers and more to come as I write, John Locke wrote many books and was a very influential enlightenment thinker. In one of his books, Second Treatise on Civil Government, written in 1690, he was talking about the dissolution of government. He says,”When the government is dissolved, the people are at liberty to provide themselves, by erecting a new legislative,... they have not only a right to to get out of a failed government, but to prevent it.”(Locke) Okay, that literally is almost a restatement of what I said about his beliefs earlier. This explains that if a government was to be unruly or disrespectful to their people, the people have the right to rebel and create a new law making body. The interesting thing about our government is that if we were in fact to rebel against our government, which we have right to, the government would also then have to right to shut us down and stop the crusade we started. What he is saying is true but what Locke is also saying is what we do with our individual rights can always come back to bite us in the…
There were two different thought processes on the relationship between people and their government, each by different people, namely Thomas Hobbs and John Locke, both of whom were influential figures in their time. Even though both men believed in the concept of the social contract, they had opposing views on human nature and, by extension, why it should be present. For example, Hobbes thought people were inherently flawed and needed a government to keep them in check. In contrast, Locke thought that people were a black state and had no characteristics besides those they learned from the people around them (Cook). The philosophers had different opinions about the importance of nature vs. nurture and its effect on governments.…
Locke's theory was that man is by nature a social animal. In the state of nature men mostly kept their promises and honoured their obligations, and though insecure, it was mostly peaceful, good and pleasant. Humans know the difference between right and wrong, and are capable of knowing what is lawful and unlawful well enough to resolve conflicts. They are capable of telling the difference of whats theirs and what belongs someone else. Regrettably they do not always act appropriately. The gap between our ideas and words about the world, and the world itself, is large and difficult, but still if one man calls it evil, the man refereed to still has the qualities of good or evil. Peace is normal and we should be able to live together. While respecting each other. We retain the right to life and liberty, and gain the right to just, impartial protection of our property. If a ruler seeks absolute power, he puts himself in the state of war. Men have the right by nature. Hobbes theory was man is not by nature a social animal, society could not exist except by the power of state. Our knowledge of objective, true answers is so feeble, so slight and imperfect as to be mostly worthless in resolving practical disputes. In a state of nature people do not know what is theirs. Property exists solely by the will of the state, thus in a state of nature men are condemned to endless violent conflict. Men cannot know good and evil. If you shut up as you are as told, you have the right not to be killed.…