Dr Richard Murphy- FWPT Michaelmas Essay 1 Charlotte Yeldon Words 1‚997. Is the aim of the social contract to establish freedom‚ equality or merely ‘peace’? How far is it successful‚ and at what cost? (Hobbes‚ Locke‚ Rousseau) The Social Contract is a theory that originated during the Enlightenment‚ which addresses the questions of the origin of society and the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual. Social contract arguments typically posit that individuals have consented
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Hobbes Human nature since the beginning of time has been to fight for control over things someone found useful . To “control” something that would make yourself powerful or even god-like. Most have tried by force ‚ fear and even love to control various things from land and weapons and even smaller things like rice and water . It has taken figures with strong mentalitys to pause the everyday fight for key essentials to focus and sometimes even dedicate their life to the humans and
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Thomas Hobbes and John Locke both sought to explain the behavior of humans in the purest form. In comparing and contrasting their theories‚ one begins to realize the extent to which these philosophers agreed and disagreed. While Hobbes states that human nature is malicious and requires a sovereign‚ Locke explains how humans are benelovant and pastoral with no motivation to advance. In Hobbes’ theory of a natural state‚ people live with no sense of government or law‚ forcing society into chaos and
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theorists that had very strong views on the social contract were Thomas Hobbes and Immanuel Kant. Although both of these theorists believed in a social contract they both had different views on what it exactly meant. 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
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Two of the greatest philosophers of all time are Thomas Hobbes and Niccolo Machiavelli. Hobbes was born in 1588 in England‚ when absolutism was taking hold in Europe. His most famous work was "Leviathan"‚ written in 1651. Hobbes discussed the ideal state and innate laws of man and nature‚ among other things. Machiavelli was born in Italy in 1469‚ a time when his home country was ruled mostly by foreign powers. His hometown‚ Florence‚ was still independent. Machiavelli’s most famous work‚ "The
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Locke and Hobbes disagree almost entirely on everything. I would say that Locke thinks of human nature as essentially good while Hobbes views it as essentially evil. Furthermore‚ for Hobbes people leave a state of nature for security‚ as they are driven by year. For Locke‚ however‚ the driving force is possessions and material wealth: we will live better if we form a society instead of living separately in a state of nature. I think their philosophy is different because of they background and also
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Thomas Hobbes‚ the son of an English vicar in the late 16th Century‚ approaches the questions of politics and human nature in a unique way‚ but there are definite similarities between his work and the work of earlier philosophers. Hobbes’ political theory coincides with the political theory of Niccolò Machiavelli‚ and yet differs in the theory of virtù. Hobbes follows Machiavelli in some important aspects of political theory‚ and yet expands upon or discards Machiavelli’s ideas in other important
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Rousseau and Jefferson “The Declaration of Independence‚” written by Thomas Jefferson‚ is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4‚ 1776. “The Origin of Civil Society” is an article written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Jefferson writes about human rights because all men shall be equal and free; Rousseau writes about social contracts because by understanding the concepts of social contracts‚ the people will live with better security and significance. By analyzing these two articles
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Machiavelli and Hobbes To be successful‚ one must have the appearance of virtuousness‚ but not necessarily be virtuous. At least‚ this appears to be true according to Niccolo Machiavelli’s works. Machiavelli’s idea of the virtuous republican citizen may be compared to Hobbes’ idea of a person who properly understands the nature and basis of sovereign political power. Hobbes’ ideas seem to suggest that most anyone can claim rightful authority as there is a belief in God‚ and one can under Hobbes‚ claim
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Locke and Hobbes Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are two famous philosophers who existed during the seventeenth and eighteenth century. The two men had divergent views pertaining to the nature of man and the ideal forms of government. While both men’s ideas were proven true‚ they did reflect on their personal experiences basing on the period of times in which they existed. Their beliefs impacted on the world around them‚ and they have continued to shape governances throughout history. Though both men’s
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