Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Thomas Hobbes, two titans of the Enlightenment, work within similar intellectual frameworks in their seminal writings. Hobbes, in Leviathan, postulates a “state of nature” before society developed, using it as a tool to analyze the emergence of governing institutions. Rousseau borrows this conceit in Discourse on Inequality, tracing the development of man from a primitive state to modern society. Hobbes contends that man is equal in conflict during the state of nature and then remains equal under government due to the ruler’s monopoly on authority. Rousseau, meanwhile, believes that man is equal in harmony in the state of nature and then unequal in developed society.
Furthermore, although they have opposing views on human nature, they both have valid points. As mentioned, Hobbes viewed human nature in a negative light. Moreover, he
Out of these three great philosophers, they had varying different viewpoints on life. Thomas Hobbes however, he was rather pessimistic on his views of life. According to a McKay, Crowston, Wiesner-Hanks, and Perry (2013), “Hobbes held a pessimistic view of human nature and believed that, left to their own devices humans would compete violently for power and wealth” (p 492). Hobbes made it clear that he did not trust humans would make the best decisions for
In the present assignment, an attempt has been made to evaluate the influence of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke on the modern society. At the same time, the connection between the writings of these philosophers and the things that are actually present has also been explored. Both the philosophers were very enlightened thinkers of the 17th century. At the same time, both of them have very strong views regarding human nature and also the role that displayed by the government in the lives of the people. In this regard, Hobbes believed that by their nature, people were selfish but the perspective of Locke was different.
What is the natural condition of man according to Aristotle and Hobbes? Firstly, somebody who is eager and willing to learn by devoting his/her time and attention to acquiring and improving knowledge on history and philosophy of social science subject, should get enough information about famous theoreticians such as Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Confucius, Epicurus (ancient philosophers) and ought to be aware of their theories and strong statements. We can extend the range of philosophers with ones who lived in medieval and early modern times. However, our main thing to do is to compare Aristotle’s and Hobbes’ human nature. Both of them are actually two of the most influential theoreticians in the history of mankind.
However, they actually have key points of disagreement; namely, Rousseau wants the state to play an active role in religion, whereas Madison does not. More broadly, they disagree about the optimal relationship between liberty and the state: Madison focuses on the liberty to act free from state intervention — what is often called “negative liberty” — while Rousseau prioritizes the liberty to act freely, enabled by state support, known as “positive liberty.” Madison and Rousseau’s disagreement about the nature of liberty in relation to the state gives rise to their
Rousseau, Hobbes and Locke are mainly renowned for their masterpieces on political philosophy, Rousseau’s On the Social Contract, Hobbes’ Leviathan and Locke’s Two Treatise of Government. Each has very unique concepts of a social contract. However, they all retain the idea that people in a State of Nature would be willing to compromise their liberty for state protection (Kelly, 2004). Even though they accept that the State of Nature is to a certain degree chaotic, Locke’s State of Nature is far more optimistic, which shows his faith in natural law. Rousseau also describes a scenario where the original freedom, happiness, equality and liberty which used to exist in primitive societies prior to the social contract were lost in the modern civilisation.
Thomas Hobbes a 17th century philosopher who is best known for his political philosophy. The idea that nature is competitive, where morality only appears when we enter into society and it is backed up by the power of the sovereign. Hobbes define human nature as sensational because sensation is the source of all of our thoughts. We seek out pleasant experience and we avoid unpleasant experiences. For example death is an unpleasant experience where people are fearful losing their lives.
To solve this problem Hobbes believed in creating a social contract and hand over their freedoms to a strong leader. The concern Hobbes points out is that from handing over most freedoms to a strong leader could result in a frighteningly powerful state. From Hobbes idea however three questions about what makes a just and fair society arose. First is the Society safe? Second does
For the most part, philosophies of social contracts are developed from a heuristic perspective of human conditions known as the natural state or conditions that are lack social order. From this perspective, philosophers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Thomas Hobbes attempt to explain the nature of humans and the rationality that was involved in giving up some of their freedom to create social structures. These theories, nonetheless differ widely on the basis of the author account and the natural state. This paper seeks to bring to light such differences. Hobbes sets up his argument by describing the state of nature as a horrible state.