THOMAS HOBBES AND JOHN LOCKE Nature of Man

THOMAS HOBBES AND JOHN LOCKE Nature of Man State of Nature Social Contract Theory

John Locke Thomas Hobbes

Nature of Man State of Nature Social Contract

NATURE OF MAN God makes man naturally free to pursue life, liberty, health, and property as natural rights. Humanity ought not to harm others in their life, health, liberty, or possessions and in turn expect their own rights to respected A human being is by nature a social animal

NATURE OF MAN human judgment is distorted by self-interest and can be easily swayed with rhetoric that is often neither directed toward the public good nor the individual's good. Human beings are programmed, mechanical objects to pursue self-interested ends, without regard for anything other than the avoidance of pain and the incentive of pleasure Man is not a social animal; that is, society is impossible without the coercive power of a state. Human beings are neither by nature selfish nor rational

STATE OF NATURE It is the natural condition of mankind, is a state of perfect and complete liberty to conduct one’s life as one best sees fit, free from the interference of others . The State of Nature is pre-political, but it is not pre-moral. Persons are assumed to be equal to one another in such a state, and therefore equally capable of discovering and being bound by the Law of Nature. The Law of Nature, which is (on Locke’s view) the basis of all morality, and given to us by God, commands that we not harm others with regards to their “life, health, liberty, or possessions”

STATE OF NATURE In the State of Nature, men are naturally and exclusively self-interested, they are more or less equal to one another, (even the strongest man can be killed in his sleep), there are limited resources, and yet there is no power able to force men to cooperate. State of Nature can be unbearably brutal. No long-term or complex cooperation is possible because the State of Nature can be aptly described as a state of utter distrust. It is the state of perpetual and unavoidable war.

SOCIAL CONTRACT

WHAT IS A SOCIAL CONTRACT AND WHY DO WE NEED TO FORM A CIVIL SOCIETY? ”

WHAT IS A SOCIAL CONTRACT AND WHY DO WE NEED TO FORM A CIVIL SOCIETY? ” We give up our right to ourselves exact retribution for crimes in return for impartial justice backed by overwhelming force. We retain the right to life and liberty, and gain the right to just, impartial protection of our property. It is the preservation of their wealth, and preserving their lives, liberty, and well-being in general.

WHAT IS A SOCIAL CONTRACT AND WHY DO WE NEED TO FORM A CIVIL SOCIETY? ” Men are naturally self-interested, yet they are rational, they will choose to submit to the authority of a Sovereign in order to be able to live in a civil society, which is conducive to their own interests. To ensure their escape from the State of Nature, they must both agree to live together under common laws, and create an enforcement mechanism for the social contract and the laws that constitute it.

“WHAT IF THE PEOPLE VIOLATED THE CONTRACT? ” They must be punished with accordance on the existing laws of the civil society

“WHAT IF THE RULER VIOLATED THE CONTRACT? ”

“WHAT IF THE RULER VIOLATED THE CONTRACT? ” When the king becomes a tyrant and acts against the interests of the people, they have a right, if not an outright obligation, to resist his authority. The social compact can be dissolved and the process to create political society begun anew. If a ruler seeks absolute power, if he acts both as judge and participant in disputes, he puts himself in a state of war with his subjects and we have the right and the duty to kill such rulers and their servants.

REVOLUTION

“WHAT IF THE RULER VIOLATED THE CONTRACT” there can happen no breach of covenant on the part of the sovereign; and consequently none of his subjects, by any pretence of forfeiture, can be freed from his subjection. ” The ruler’s will defines good and evil for his subjects. The King can do no wrong, because lawful and unlawful, good and evil, are merely commands, merely the will of the ruler. No right to rebel

“ABSOLUTE”

REFERENCES: http: //www. iep. utm. edu/hobmoral/ http: //www. iep. utm. edu/locke/#SH 2 f http: //jim. com/hobbes. html