The Political Philosophy Of Hobbes, Locke And Rousseau

“Egoism states that each man’s primary moral obligation is to achieve his own welfare, well-being, or self-interest… He should be ‘selfish’ in the sense of being the beneficiary of his own moral actions.” (Glossary of Definitions by Ayn Rand, pg. 12) In the book everything Prometheus does benefit him to reach his welfare in Happiness. On page 95 of Anthem Equality writes “For I know what happiness is possible to me on earth.

Being an individual means you have the right of independence and making your own decisions, which is taken away from all the men in this society. I believe Equality would agree with the notions make in Ayn Rand’s short essay “How Does One Lead a Rational Life in an Irrational Society?” considering the points she offers, if he were to hear them. The evidence given from the book states there is no individuality within the men giving supporting aspects to why Equality would dislike his leaders.

Equality believes in the freedom of exploration, creation, and the act of doing by oneself as despised by his brothers who believe all acts should be done together as group. Not doing so shall be evil to them and considered threatening as Equality believes it is acceptable whether you do it or not. This is the disparity of Equality and his peer’s

“A world where no man will hold desire for himself, but will direct his efforts to satisfy the desires of his neighbor who’ll have no desires but to satisfy the desires of the next neighbor who’ll have no desires - and so on…”(The Soul of a Collectivist) The speech focuses on how one snuffs out the individual desires of man and makes him work for the collective body of he and his neighbors. To form a collectivist society personal desire must seem as though it is a selfish sin, nobody can be great because “Great men can’t be ruled”(The Soul of a Collectivist), and singular thought can not be

People consider Emerson the “father of Transcendentalism”. He believed that man would thrive if he trusted himself. Man was inherently good and could do no wrong. In Emerson’s “Nature”, a work about Emerson’s view on nature, he writes: “We must trust the perfection of the creation so far, as to believe that whatever curiosity the order of things has awakened in our minds, the order of things can satisfy” (Emerson Par 2). Man did not need to rely on society, or entangle himself in the patterns of the world; man’s intuition would be enough for his success.

He searches for development of individual morality, but is struck dry by the restrictive society, by which he is forced to be, think, and live like everyone else, average and accepting. However, throughout, Anthem, by Ayn Rand, Equality’s view of morality transforms from group mentality and collectivism to individualism and independence due to the discovery of his true purpose for living; himself. Through the control of their citizens, Equality’s initial society forces him to feel guilt and loneliness through his differences, but as he discovers the rationalisation of his independence, he begins to develop a moral existence. In the beginning of the novella, Anthem, Equality is bound to his “brothers”, in a society of total equality, for which he is forced to sacrifice his intelligence and curiosity to fit the ideal of the equal being.

John Locke believed that all men had natural rights and they could state a person 's freedom and they could manage their belongings. In John Locke’s book, he says that “...We must consider, what state all men are naturally in…”(Document A). John Locke believed that the same species and rank should also be equal. Locke in his book stated that all men had natural rights to how they could manage their stuff. Adam Smith believed that all men were free to pursue their own interests in his own way.

Transcendentalism is the belief that man is inherently good, is an independent thinker, and goes out into nature to get in touch with himself. Generally, man has good intentions and intends no harm unto others. In addition, man does not need society to give him and develop his thoughts, as he already has them within. To help bring out these already installed beliefs, man has the desire to go out into nature to get in touch with himself and find deeper notions within. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writings “Self Reliance” and “American Scholar”, he writes about how being a true individual means that one must have his own beliefs, and not copy someone else’s ideas.

In Chapter 5, Locke establishes how important personal liberty is, in that each individual has the right to live and think as they choose as and that each person has equal opportunity to appropriate property and essentially reap equal benefits from the land based on their ability to develop the land. In Federalist #10, James Madison attempts to deal with problematic factions and the struggle to destroy them. Madison asserts, that men by nature form factions with similarly minded people (just like Locke ’s claim the men are naturally self-serving), but the most important cause is the unequal distribution of property. Just like Locke, Madison argues that men with greater skill and talent usually have more property than people with less ability, but the government is supposed to encourage ability and equality.

Hobbes believes that the state of nature is a state of war and that no morality exists. Being that the “weakest” could kill the “strongest” men are considered equal. Locke believed the state of nature is not good or bad, it is considered chaotic. Rousseau believed that humans in a state of nature are equal and free. In a state of nature, men are “Noble Savages” and civilization is what actually corrupted them.

The Enlightenment Philosophers were brilliant people who did things that changed the world. The Enlightenment is a story about four philosophers who each had a different story and background. Their main idea was to say what needed to change and happen because of what they believed in. The Philosophers main idea is that they all believe in individual rights and they want to make things right about what they believe was right. John Locke talks about how the state of nature and government worked during his time.

Imagine a time where your actions, decisions, and thoughts were controlled by a government, and those ideas were strictly enforced. This was what it was like before the Enlightenment Era, and when this happened, it changed the world forever. The Enlightenment Era was a time period where many different types of people came together to challenge ideas from the time, and think of new ideas that would change the world. There are many people that created new and revolutionary ideas, but the ideas of Wollstonecraft, Locke, Smith, and Voltaire share a common overall idea: freedom and equality. The main ideas of Wollstonecraft, Locke, Smith, and Voltaire are similar because they talk about how every individual should have freedom in society, and that everyone is equal.

A study conducted by San Francisco State University was that money does have a factor on one´s happiness. But what the money is being spent on is not material objects, instead it is experiences that are being bought. One of the experiences that the students at the college purchased was a meal out. Now what a meal out gives a person is a feeling of activity in one's life and having social contracted with someone else, which a material possession would not be able to do. What this experience also provides is a memory which one might never forget because they had such a good time.