Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. I will investigate both men’s ideas individually and offer my own views on their theories. I will conclude the paper by comparing and contrasting the notions introduced in their respective writings. Thomas Hobbes was born in Wiltshire‚ England in 1588. He lived in one of the most unsettled periods in English history. Following a rebellion against King Charles‚ there resulted a civil war‚ which began in 1642. As a consequence of this political instability‚ Hobbes was forced
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Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were two of the great political theorists of their time. Both created great philosophical texts that help to describe the role of government in man’s life‚ as well as their views of man’s state of nature. Even though both men do have opposite views on many of their political arguments‚ the fact that they are able to structure their separate ideologies on the state of man in nature is the bond that connects them. Both men look toward the creation of civil order in order
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Thomas Hobbes and John Locke both had very different views on society and government. For Locke‚ natural rights could co-exist within a civil society and that natural rights and civil society were not mutually exclusive categories. While Hobbes thinks that the absolute power of the sovereign is simply the price mankind must pay for peace‚ Locke believes that absolute power is never a remedy for the state of nature. Hobbes and Locke also greatly differed in their opinions on the role of the state in
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theorists Thomas Hobbes and John Locke agree that legitimate government comes only from the mutual consent of those governed. Although both were empiricists‚ the ways by which they came to their conclusions differed wildly‚ and perhaps as a result their views on the means by which society should be governed also conflicted. This paper will briefly address the different conclusions as well as the reasoning that led to them. Written during the English Civil War of 1642-51‚ Hobbes’ Leviathan is presented
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Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were two of the greatest political and philosophical thinkers of their time and ours. Ideas like these have shaped governments throughout history and still hold true today. They had extremely different views on government‚ but the bases of their arguments were similar. They used reason to justify their ideas‚ rather than divine right. Although both men acknowledged that there was a God‚ He played a very small part in their ideologies. The philosophers each had an impact
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Thomas Hobbes and John Locke will be explored to compare their goals for the ideal sate. Hobbes and Locke were significant political philosophers‚ predominantly in the 17th Century‚ most importantly for being natural law and social contract theorists. Hobbes and Locke both vary in their approaches as Hobbes is labelled a pessimist‚ while Locke is considered an optimist‚ influencing how they perceive the idea state to look like. The social contract theory was addressed by Hobbes first then Locke later
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looked at a social contract‚ both Hobbes and Locke had different views on a social contract then we believe it to be. Social contract is how people decide to have a government and talks about how much authority can the government have over the people. Some similarities are to prevent violence against fellow citizens. For Tomas Hobbes‚ this means curbing the natural state of chaos. For John Locke‚ this means preventing any and all violations of individual rights. Both Hobbes and Lock base their theory on
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Hobbes vs. Locke: Political Theories Both Hobbes and Locke shared similarities within their political theories; however their theories also had some major differences. Both men were responding to the crisis of the 17th century and they were highly influenced by the scientific revolution. Hobbes and Locke rejected all previous theories regarding human nature. They used the same methodology‚ and the men accepted an atomistic view of society. They believed that individuals were rational and were motivated
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Enlightenment‚ freedom‚ and Political rights: creating a “just” society Hobbes: “life is nasty‚ brutish‚ and short...” Pessimistic about humans fear of anarchy--bad for economics Ultimate power with strong ruler “Leviathan” John Locke: “Wherever law ends‚ tyranny begins.” Rights: “life‚ liberty‚ and property...” optimistic about humans IF equality and tolerance.... ultimate power with people Thomas Hobbe’s In Leviathan‚ Thomas Hobbe’s argued that ordinary people were incapable of
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Hobbes vs. Locke Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were known as Social Contract Theorists‚ and Natural Law Theorists. The two men both had very strong views on freedom and how a country should be governed. Thomas Hobbes had more of a Pessimistic view while John locke had more of an Optimistic view. Hobbes and Locke believed in a type of Social Contract between the Government and being governed. Hobbes believed in Absolute Monarchs and Locke believed in the will of people being governed. Hobbes opposed
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