Preview

Machiavelli Vs Hobbes Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
720 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Machiavelli Vs Hobbes Essay
Machiavelli as well as Hobbes have different views but also had similar ones. Machiavelli was a man that was interested in the perseverance of the Prince rather than that of the regular people. On the other hand Hobbes was looking out for the well-being of the whole community. When we look at both we can see what they mean and how it is still relevant to today’s politics. There is also a third person to look at and compare with Machiavelli and Hobbes, which is Rousseau. Each of the men listen above has their own philosophical idea for politics. Whether we ought for a ruler or a government we can all learn from what was written decades ago and put it to use in our politics today. Machiavelli was a man that thought humans were always savages. He built his theory by making men think that they needed someone to guide them in order to have a good living. He went on to talk about how men in his case, the Prince, should seek things for his own preservation. Whetever he does it must be to keep himself in power and to protect himself from enemies and others around him. He foes on to state how a Prince should look nobel but not be nobel. Have people who support him around himself for protection but not count in them for your needs. Macxhiavelli saw virtue as a ruin and vice as security and well …show more content…
Hobbes wrote for the average people rather than those who ruled however his view was slightly similar to that of Machiavelli. Since Hobbes wanted men to give up their free will and power to a Leviathan. While Machiavelli worried about being a men Hobbes didn’t see that as being something important for men. Hobbes was in fear about men being dsngerous. He was the one that made a theory about how rules came to power. His theory was the stae of nature, saying that people back in the days were brutal and short so that led to authority. Authority were the ones that kept people calm and without

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli believes that a government should be very structured, controlled, and powerful. He makes it known that the only priorities of a prince are war, the institutions, and discipline. His writings describes how it is more important for a prince to be practical than moral. This is shown where he writes, "in order to maintain the state he is often obliged to act against his promise, against charity, against humanity, and against religion" (47). In addition, Machiavelli argues that a prince may have to be cunning and deceitful in order to maintain political power. He takes the stance that it is better for the prince to be feared than loved. His view of how a government should run and his unethical conduct are both early signs of dictatorship.…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout The Prince and Discourses, Niccolò Machiavelli talks in great length, and seems to endorse, power, deception, and cruelty. There is one passage in particular that I found to contradict Machiavelli’s viewpoint on dominance and to support the fact that he is perhaps a classical republican. The way Machiavelli praises Rome in Chapter 2 of Discourses shows that he believes there is a way to make the system work without a “prince” being feared by his subjects.…

    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    When comparing Hobbes,’ Sandel’s and Machiavelli’s viewpoints regarding which of Aristotle’s three main categories of knowledge is the most significant for establishing good political systems or making good political decisions, one must consider what each theorists considers to be a good political system and create a link between the two. The most important category of knowledge for establishing and making good political systems for Aristotle is practical knowledge, the purpose of politics is to produce good, virtuous citizens, the law promotes just actions, purpose of legislators is to establish good laws. The most important category of knowledge for Hobbes is scientific knowledge, the absolute sovereign represents the commonwealth of its citizens, the absolute sovereign must uphold their self preservation, and all laws…

    • 1957 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The understanding of human nature and the effects it has on the individual and society has been a serious topic in the philosophical world. Nicolo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes were well known for their crucial roles in forming the foundation of political philosophy. While reading through Machiavelli’s The Prince and Hobbes’ Leviathan, both introduced a common focus on political theory even though living approximately 100 years apart. While learning about these two philosophers and their proposed theories, I noticed an innate relationship in the discussion of society’s human nature. Machiavelli ([1532] 2006) in The Prince theorizes the qualities that a dominant leader should have to gain and maintain power.…

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hobbes Vs Machiavelli

    • 121 Words
    • 1 Page

    Lastly, both Hobbes and Machiavelli agree in their opinion of man what is one that is very negative. In the novel The Prince, Machiavelli states that men are “ungrateful, fickle, deceptive, and deceiving, avoiders of danger, eager to gain” (Machiavelli < 1542 > 2006). Similarly, in the novel Leviathan, Hobbes states how the life of a man is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” (Hobbes < 1651 > 2009). This shows how both Machiavelli and Hobbes see men and their lives as very negative aspects, but differ in what there perspectives are of it. Machiavelli explains how men are unreliable and not worth trusting when Hobbes is explaining how life naturally is terrible and without sovereignty, life and man are nothing.…

    • 121 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Chapter 18

    • 1729 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Hobbes.
Thomas Hobbes. (1588-1679). ‘Born premature when mother heard of oncoming Armada.’ At 40, he took Euclid’s geometry as starting point to make mechanical model of universe (man and society). Mechanism (based on motion) was to greatly influence thinking over next few centuries. Witness to upheaval of civil war in England in 1640s. Fled to France. 1651. Publishes "Leviathan.”Hobbes sees state of nature sans government as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Promulgates absolute monarch thesis. Says people (wholly selfish) should escape chaos of everyday life, give up their freedom to ruler who guarantees peace and order. In his state Hobbes saw ruler as absolute with men having no right to rebel since this would break the social contract and be illogical.…

    • 1729 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Machiavelli's philosophy was that "The end justifies the means." This meant that the end result is the most important, and how you got there was of no importance. The Prince was a book of advice to rules on how to found a state and how to stay in power. Machiavelli explained in his book the many different ways to gain power. One way was to acquire land. The four methods that he discusses to acquire more land is: Your own arms and virtue, fortune, others' arms, and inequity. To Machiavelli, the word virtue meant manliness and strength. Machiavelli also advocates the use of evil to achieve any goals. He gives an example of Agathocles of Syracuse as a proof that this works and will enable the prince to rule the land peacefully through fear. "Born of a potter, this one always had an iniquitous life throughout his years: nonetheless, he accomplished his iniquities with such virtue of spirit and of body that, having joined the militia, he rose through its ranks to become praetor of Syracuse. Being established in rank, and having decided to become prince and to keep with violence and without obligation to others what had been conceded him by agreement... ...one morning he convened the people and the senate of Syracuse, as if he had had to deliberate things pertinent to the republic; and at a preordained nod…

    • 1540 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Hobbes, government is needed so that society will not collapse into violence due to humanity’s selfish desires and self-interest. Hobbes believes that humanity’s natural state is motivated by self-interest and will do everything they can to succeed in their endeavors. People will do whatever it takes to fulfill what their idea of ‘good ’is. When everyone acts this way it quickly devolves into chaos, war, and violence.…

    • 266 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hobbes, on the contrary, believes that we have a very selfish nature and often do what is in our best interest, regardless of what we are told is right. Their philosophies can help to explain the novel by revealing the reasoning for some of the behaviors that the boys reveal and the actions that they demonstrate.…

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 239 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hobbes was a philosopher who saw humans as a purely physical being. He believed that all human actions can be explained through the motions in our bodies. According to Hobbes all feelings and emotions are a result of phantasms, our perception of the objects around us. This perception is a motion within our bodies and each person perceives these phantasms differently causing love, hate, desires, and what we think is good and bad. Every feeling that comes from ones perspective has a physical feeling, such as desires can cause certain pains and it is only human nature that one does whatever is needed in order to relieve those pains. Hobbes therefore sees humans as being able, by their state of nature, to take or do whatever necessary for themselves even if it shows no regard for the other people their actions may harm. This inevitably would end up in a fight for survival or “the war of all against all”. In order to prevent such a war from happening Hobbes thought it necessary that the individuals must promise each other to give up their right to govern themselves to the sovereign for the mutual benefit of the people. This sovereign then has absolute power to rule with no questions asked and not to only act on behalf of the citizens but to completely embody their will. In summation, Hobbes believed that society could only exist under power of the sovereign and that life in the state of nature is violent, short and brutish, as all men act on self-interest.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hobbes believes that the government protects us from ourselves. While Locke believes the government protects natural rights. They have different beliefs on why they have the government. Hobbes believes that sovereignty resides to the monarch, or the kings. Locke believes that sovereignty resides to the people or the community. Sovereignty is where the power is holded. Hobbes believes that the government’s…

    • 214 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Prince

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The advice Machiavelli gives in chapters fifteen through nineteen is for princes to be basically be bad rather than a good prince. Machiavelli’s advice went against all traditional advice books written for rulers that were all about princes being good, honest, and generous because he did not want to discuss imaginary things.…

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Locke Research Paper

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages

    He believes that people who can’t agree will end up in war which causes destruction in mankind. Considering that Thomas Hobbes was around his mid-50s when the English Civil War happened. Hobbes must have been traumatized by the violence making him believe that people are corrupt and are selfish and horrible. Despite Hobbes thinking, I believe it's wrong for him to judge all of humanity based on a certain event that occurred devastatingly in his life. He should have seen the positivity in people rather than the negativity.…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The idea of the natural human is a topic discussed for centuries. Philosophers for generations asked question regarding the form of government that human beings react best in. In class we examined both Thomas Hobbes and John Locke's theory of the State of Nature which allowed us to see their viewpoints on humankind. Hobbes believes that humans are selfishly motivated and are constantly at war with one another. However, Locke has a more positive outlook. He believes that humans behaved based on the Law of Nature which is given to us by God (hobbeslockedocument). In Locke’s opinion, the State of Nature is free and has the right to life, liberty and property and if people want their rights respected, they should respect others. However, Locke is not delusional, he knows…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics