Hobbes, Human Nature and the State

Term Paper # 100238

Philosophy

This paper discusses Thomas Hobbes' beliefs about human nature and the origin, character and functions of the state.

1,251 words () | 3 sources | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper examines Thomas Hobbes' claims that man, in his natural state, is driven by competitiveness and the desire for power and resources, to the extent that he will kill to preserve his own life. The paper shows how Hobbes' ideas of the ideal dictatorial state were entirely at odds with notions of feudal life.

From the Paper:

"Thomas Hobbes is widely known for the wonderfully pithy line in which he claims that in the state of nature, the life of man would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short." (Hobbes and MacPherson, 62) What is less widely known is that he based this claim on a calmly reasoned, materialist notion of the nature of reality. To Hobbes, all of reality consists of the motions of bodies. In the case of men, he believed that their motions are governed by passions, and moderated by reason. According to Hobbes, each man is an island, unable to truly understand other men, and motivated by a desire to be better than them, in terms of both reputation and resources."

Sample of Sources Used:

Hayes, Peter. "Hobbes's Bourgeois Moderation." Polity 31.1 (1998): 53+.
Hobbes, Thomas and C.B. MacPherson (Ed.) Leviathan: The Matter, Form and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiastical and Civil. New York: Penguin, 1986. (First published 1651)
Minogue, K.R. "Thomas Hobbes and the Philosophy of Absolutism." In Thomson, D., (Ed), Political Ideas. London: Penguin, 1966.

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APA Citation:

Hobbes, Human Nature and the State (2012, January 15). Retrieved February 13, 2012, from http://www.academon.com/Term-Paper-Hobbes-Human-Nature-and-the-State/100238

MLA Citation:

"Hobbes, Human Nature and the State" 15 January 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. <http://www.academon.com/Term-Paper-Hobbes-Human-Nature-and-the-State/100238>