As a political scientist one of the most important questions to ask is‚ “What should the aim of government in society be and why?” To answer this question I will examine the perspectives of three philosophers‚ Thomas Aquinas‚ Thomas Hobbes‚ and John Locke‚ in regards to their views on government’s role and obligation in a society. To understand and define the aim of government in society the best form of government must first be defined. The best form of government will be defined using Plato’s teaching’s
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Thomas Hobbes were two very important philosophers and political thinkers who attempted to understand human nature and how human nature affects political theory. In this paper I will compare and contrast the different methodologies Niccolo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes employed‚ and then analyze how this difference in methodology created a divergent view of human nature. I will then explain their differing views through the idea of self-interest. To compare and contrast Machiavelli and Hobbes‚ I will
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Thomas Hobbes attempted to justify the existence of a state by describing what life would be like without one in his book Leviathan. The central argument in the book describes the conditions that would exist in a state of nature—at a time where there would be no organized government or no laws to influence human behavior. Throughout the book Hobbes attempts to justify his claims about what a state of nature would be like with arguments that are false when examined closely. According to Hobbes‚ life
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Rights to Property According to John Locke In chapter V of The Second Treatise of Government by John Locke‚ he begins by explaining that God has given earth to all man in “common”. Meaning everyone equally owns all of the earth and its fruits. How can we humans‚ fairly distribute this land? What gives one man the right to a deer over every other person on earth? Labor‚ Locke states “The labor that was mine removing them out of that common state they were in‚ hath fixed my property in them”(13)
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Thomas Hobbes natural state of man and Jean Rousseau’s natural state of man‚ where there is no society or government over us‚ is whether man in naturally selfish and out for his/her own personal gain and protection or if we would naturally come together for the betterment of all persons and cooperation. I will first be talking about Hobbes’ view point of the state of nature of man and then Rousseau’s objection to Hobbes and his differing thoughts about the state of nature of man. Thomas Hobbes Leviathan
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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
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Rousseau’s conception of the state of nature’ differ from Hobbes’? The term state of nature’ is used in political philosophy to describe the condition of human life either in the absence of some form of government‚ or the lack of laws. The notion itself was initiated by philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) within his book Leviathan‚ in which it is depicted as "the natural condition of mankind" . The state of nature is a supposed state as opposed to an actual state in that it is believed that
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Hobbes’ right of nature states that no individual should be expected to follow the rules of those in control if that means that person is not obligated to put themselves in a state of harm or to give up their right for something or somebody else (115). Moreover‚ for an individual to give up their right to something takes away from their own independence‚ therefore‚ they do not necessarily have to commit to a task or a promise if that puts them into a state in which they are giving up their own right
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the author of A Treatise Social Contract states‚ “It is one of the great classics of political philosophy” (Frey‚ Raymond). He describes how Rousseau took offense to the thought of the Enlightenment and political obligation. The eighteenth century Europe‚ was the birthplace of the literary term. These thinkers supported the use of reason and science as the foundation for all belief and conduct for religion and philosophy. On the other hand‚ Rousseau “maintained that human understanding is not
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I agree with Hobbes point of view because I believe human nature is naturally “evil”‚ he states “Civil society is the application of force by the state to uphold contracts and so forth.” He’s saying‚ without the social contract that people are morally obligated to withhold‚ we would follow our human nature to simply do as we please. The definition of human nature is “The general psychological characteristics‚ feelings‚ and behavioral traits of humankind‚ shared by all humans.” Hobbs had a negative
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