Rules: State of Nature and Thomas Hobbes

Rules are intended to promote and maintain civilized society. Many people at times unaware of the intention, think rules restrict them to do whatever they please. Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean Rousseau are all great examples who exemplify the importance of using rules. All of three of them use the State of Nature to show the true state of humankind. Almost every action that people make would lead to utter chaos, misleading people to the wrong definition to happiness. According to Thomas Hobbes, the natural state of mankind is utterly brutal. Hobbes indicates that the natural state of man can lead to an outbreak of war. In order to refrain from war, Hobbes suggests creating a civil society. Hobbes hypothetically thinks that men are naturally selfish. Earth has limited resources that people want to get their hands on. Without any laws, there will be no power or authority that will be able to have men cooperate. Men have distrust and fear dissatisfactions. Hobbes strongly interprets that the State of Nature will eventually lead to an inescapable war. In the book Lord of the Flies, Golding’s work precisely displays the reason why a civil society is needed. When the young boys were left on the island without any rules or limitations, they were uncontrollable and acted like savages. Throwing boulders to kill each other, brutally killing other animals, and torturing the other boys. Because of their behavior, the boys started to kill each other. Only after seeing a civilized rescuer did they realize their barbaric behavior. Golding also shows that there has always been evil among us, but have never opened. Therefore, with people positioned to enforce rules and laws, this savagery can be avoided. Under my parents’ roof, I must abide by their rules. When I was in elementary school, I often questioned my parents’ authority over me. I broke many rules at school and at home. I used to lie about every situation that my parents’ would ask me about. One day, my