Thomas Hobbes State of Nature in Leviathan Essay

For centuries, political theory was dominated by the idea that people are not equal. This idea that some were good for some things and not for others massively shaped the theories that grew from them. However, in Thomas Hobbes Leviathan we see a departure from this inequality. The argument of people being equal and the state of man that he develops from that belief are central not only to his own theory but to the world of political science today. It is his examination of people being equal, followed by the state of nature and war, and finally his look at various laws of nature that lead a natural path to his political solution. Hobbes assertion that all people are equal is no small departure from past political philosophy. It indeed is†¦show more content†¦This equality of people is also the basis for the nature of humans together in societies. While Hobbes works on an assumption that a person is not selfish or violent until they must interact with others this argument is o ne that is nearly pointless. It is impossible at this point in human evolution for us to be that alone. It is also hard to fathom in the span of human existence that such a state ever truly existed in nature. His basic argument is that this state of equality makes humans naturally distrustful and because of this distrust, they will end up going to war with one another. His thoughts on men going to war or quarreling with one another are easily summed up on page 185 of Leviathan So that in the nature of man, we find three principall causes of quarrell. First, Competition; Secondly, Diffidence; Thirdly, Glory The first, maketh men invade for Gain; the second, for Safety; and the third, for Reputation. (Hobbes Macpherson, 1968). Hobbes believes that this comes entirely out of the fact that all people are equal. It is in fact this argument that equality causes war that brings Hobbes to government. For the main purpose of government for him is to avoid this natural state of war. He says that ... it is manifest, that during the time men live without a common Power to keep them all in awe, they are in thatShow MoreRelatedThomas Hobbes State of Nature in Leviathan Essay847 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to the view Thomas Hobbes presents within the selected passaged in the Leviathan, we live in a narcissistic society where man’s condition is primarily driven by ego and where the achievement of personal goals is deemed paramount. Within the State of Nature that is, outside of civil society we have a right to all things ‘even to one another’s body’, and there would be no agreed authority to ensure the moral grounds of our decisions. 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