Preview

What Is The Difference Between John Locke And Thomas Hobbes

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
407 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Is The Difference Between John Locke And Thomas Hobbes
John Locke vs. Thomas Hobbes
The new ways of thinking developed during the scientific revolution began to extend into other areas of life beyond that of just science. Scholars and philosophers began to rethink the old ideas about religion, economics, and education. The Enlightenment started from key ideas put forth by two English political thinkers of the 1600s, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Both men experienced hardships England early in that century in the English civil war but they ended up getting different ideas about government.
Hobbes views on society are when men live without a power to keep them all under control; they are in a condition, which is called war every man against every man. In such conditions, there is fear of danger,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The lack of an impartial judge is a defining characteristic of the state of nature, and this lack of a common judge can lead to confusion and violence therefore leading to the state of war. The state of nature and the state of war are not two separate concepts but the state of nature has the fundamental problem and civil government is the solution for the problems of the state of nature.…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Locke Vs Hobbes

    • 184 Words
    • 1 Page

    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,…

    • 184 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many philosophers, such as John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, have discussed over the years if he human race is naturally good or evil. People than choice their side of the argument, one side believing that humans have a basically good nature that is corrupted by society, while the other side believes that humans have a bad nature that is kept in check by society. As John Locke believes that the human race is good, it is reasonable to accept as true because we are born neutral, with free will, and fear of a higher power.…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The only way to overcome the potential war and chaos are the two passions that Hobbes believes all humanity shares; fear of death and desire for happiness. There are two ways people will try to obtain these passions. The first is through peaceful methods or the law of nature. The other is through violence or the…

    • 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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Enlightenment Dbq

    • 151 Words
    • 1 Page

    From around 1650 to the late 1700’s, the Age of Enlightenment dominated philosophical thought in Europe and led to revolutionary change in the structure of government and way of thought. The intellectual and cultural movement provided a new way of thought that was based on reason, progress and the scientific method. Certain thinkers and writers believed they were more enlightened than others and strived to create a more successful idea of how society should be run. They believed that human reason could be used to fight ignorance, tired rituals, corrupt traditions and tyranny. They valued reason, progress, and liberty. John Locke (1632-1704), an English philosopher, was one of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment and has left…

    • 151 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory 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
  • Better Essays

    In the 1600s, they started exploring the areas of reason and law as well as science. They believed that reason could be used to solve any problems. During this Enlightenment period, thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Baron de Montesquieu discussed their opinions on government and the human condition.…

    • 1358 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the start of the Scientific Revolution, people started thinking differently. Scholars and philosophers began to rethink their views about the old society and the way of living. Aspects of government, religion, economics and education were criticized. Two political thinkers, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke both experienced political hardships throughout their times, however they both came to two totally different conclusions on how future government should be ran.…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The British enlightenment brought many important enlightened thinkers who changed the world such as Isaac Newton, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes and Francis Bacon. Many thinkers differed greatly and opposed each other's ideas such as John Locke who “Diametrically opposed the pessimistic Hobbes” (What is the English enlightenment). Francis Bacon was one of the earliest and most influential enlightenment thinkers. He was known as the father of the scientific method, which was a new turn in the framework for science. His philosophies and discoveries would soon be the foundation in which other thinkers would build upon.…

    • 1448 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the age of the Enlightenment, radical changes were made in the human’s understandings of the world. Unconventional philosophers abandoned traditional ideas of religion and emphasized logical reasoning and individualism. The philosophers influenced many aspects of life with these original concepts. Major philosophers, such as Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Montesquieu, proposed their innovative ideas on the nature of mankind and the government. They held similar, but also very different opinions about the effects of man’s behavior on the society.…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    hobbes and kant

    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Hobbes was a different kind of philosopher that had a very pessimistic view on humanity. In Hobbes’ book the Leviathan, he believed that humans were naturally nasty creatures and needed to be regulated in a society. For Hobbes one thing he also believed in was Utilitarianism, which is the desire for pleasure that drives our actions, basically, the most useful choice for your benefit. Hobbes had a theory that was called “the state of nature”, which in the eyes of Hobbes was life for humans before any kind of laws or governments. He says that the state of nature is a violent place with no lows. In the state of nature there is no business, no account of time, buildings, and there is always danger around the corner. For Hobbes the “state of nature” was a savage place that could only be fixed by laws, there is only peace when there is no war and no war is a place with laws. Hobbes came to the conclusion that humans cant live in groups without law. Hobbes was…

    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Enlightenment reached its peak by the 1700s, this was the time Paris was a center of intellectual activity. As the Enlightenment got more and more popular people tried to find new ways to use reason to improve all of their human conditions. Thomas Hobbes was an English thinker who wrote about his views on government in his book Leviathan. He believed all people were selfish and greedy, he got this from the violence of the English civil war.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Locke Vs Hobbes Essay

    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The battle between Hobbes and Locke still continues today through their influence on governments and how they believed government should work. Hobbes believed in an absolute monarch where they were to demand obedience in order to maintain order. On the other hand, John Locke thought that a Democracy was a better form of government provided that they had the right information to make. This form of government allows the people to keep their natural rights rather than giving them up in exchange for protection by the monarch. As a result of their views on human nature and what form government should take, it is easy to see why Lockean government is more powerful than Hobbesian by looking at past governments in history as well as logically.…

    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays