Thomas Hobbes

1588-1679

Major works of Thomas Hobbs:

The Elements of law: Natural and Politic (1642)

A Minute or First Draught of the Optiques (1646)

Leviathan (1651)

Hobbes Life in a Nutshell

Thomas Hobbes was born in 1588 in Wiltshire, England. When Hobbes was

15 he began his intellectual study at Oxford. 5 years later he began tutoring

the son of a noble family on a very intense study in Greek and Roman

classics. When he began traveling abroad he discovered new radical

ideologies of people like Galileo. These people began to influence Hobbes

thinking. After his first trip he changed him studies to Classical. This is when

Hobbes embarked on a new writing journey in philosophy and politics and

began to astound people with books such as: The Elements of law: Natural

and Politic (1642), A Minute or First Draught of the Optiques (1646), and

Leviathan (1651). HE continued on his travels, writing books, and tutoring.

King Charles the second loved Leviathan so much that he decided to pay

Hobbes just for his knowledge. Due to the fact that Leviathan stirred up so

much controversy Hobbes was not in favor with a lot of people. Parliament

prompted a bill in which Atheism became illegal. A lot of Hobbes writings

would go against the views of parliament. Therefore he was told that he was

not allowed to write about politics or religion anymore. So he spent out his

last days writing about himself and working on translations of other popular

books. He later died in 1679.

1. Difference of manners

a. Man desires power, possessions

b. Will never cease, until death

2. Natural condition of mankind as concerning to their happiness and

misery

a. All man was created close to equal enough that even if we are

weaker, we can still take from one another through conspiring with

other like-minded people.

b. If 2 men want the same thing, and only 1 can have it, they are

enemies

c. 3 principle causes for fighting

i. Competition – Invade to acquire things

ii. Distrust – To defend what’s “ours”

iii. Glory

d. It’s in our nature to be this way

e. It will continue unless there are rules and laws put in place

i. These laws can’t exist without a “ruler”

ii. Peace only exists due to a fear of death, or a desire for

comfort in what we already have

Summary of Text

3. 1st and 2nd laws of nature

a. Right of nature

i. Every man has a right to use their owe power, however they

choose, to preserve their own nature

ii. Because every man has a right to everything, for his own

preservation of life, including killing others, no one can be secure

that they are safe at any time

iii. So every man should WANT peace, unless it’s impossible,

then they should seek out every possible resource, including

fellow men, to aid in his own personal war

1. To seek peace and follow it….by all means we can to

defend ourselves

iv. 2nd law: Man should be willing, when others are, to lay down

his right to everything and be content to treat others as he would

like to be treated. So long as every man has a right to

everything, there can be no peace. But if there are others that

are NOT willing to be at peace, he cannot as well, or he’d fall

victim to being easy prey.

v. So it’s in our nature to desire things, pursue them, and defend

them from others, even in times of peace.

1. Do unto others, what you would have done to you.

4. Causes, Development, and definition of a Commonwealth

a. Men live together in a commonwealth for self-preservation without

having constant war

b. Law of nature goes against our natural desire, so we need an

authority figure to “scare” us into following it.

c. Joining together doesn’t actually deter war, but makes the group

seem more powerful and can even encourage them to invade smaller

groups.

d. Large groups aren’t necessarily better than small ones

i. Differing opinions on how to use their strengths will weaken the

group.

ii. When there is no common enemy for the group to fight, they

will fight each other

e. If we (the commonwealth) could get the group to agree to follow the

laws of nature, without a ruling power, then we could have done that

to every individual and therefore wouldn’t have needed to group up in

the 1st place.

5. Function of the Sovereign Representative

a. Responsible for the safety of the people

b. Without a sovereign representative, the commonwealth is

dissolved and man returns to a state of war with every other man

c. Has a duty to educate his people about the reasons for ruling

and his “laws” to maintain their order and safety

d. The definition of “good laws” – Laws needed for the people. Not

meant to bind them from action, but to guide them away from

hurting themselves or others due to their natural desires

i. The example he uses is a row of hedges to keep travelers on

a set path

e. Severe punishment should be reserved for those crimes that are

the most dangerous to the public

f. Leniency is necessary to rule.

i. Punish the leaders of a revolution, not the swayed masses

that followed.

g. Encourage and reward those who serve the commonwealth and

it’s interests

i. This will encourage others to follow

Main points from text

1. It is in the nature of man to desire power and possessions. This is inherent

in man and is the reason for war.

“if any two men desire the same thing, which nevertheless they cannot

both enjoy, they become enemies”

ii “In the nature of man, we find three principal causes for quarrel: first,

competition; secondly, distrust; thirdly, glory.”4

2. Man should turn themselves over to a greater power in order to ensure their

own safety from war.

“I authorize and give up my right of governing myself to this man, or this

assembly of men, on this condition, that you give up your right to him and

authorize all his actions in like manner.”

3. The Sovereign Representative is responsible for the safety of his people

through education and laws

“the use of laws, which are but rules authorized, is not to bind the people

from all voluntary actions but to direct and keep them from hurting

themselves by their own impulsive desires, rashness, or indiscretion;

as hedges are set not to stop travelers, but to keep them in their way.”

Context

1.Leviathan was written during the English Civil

War while Hobbes was in Paris.

2. Its name refers to a biblical monster

3. It’s basically a social contract of how man

should live with each other, why they need a

common ruler, and the guidelines to how the

ruler should lead

4. Common themes of writing during Hobbes

time include Descartes Discourse on Method

and other mathematically analytical style of

thinking

Subtext

a. Hobbes has two intended audiences here, the

English monarchs and their subjects

b. His intent was to explain to the English people,

based on man’s inherent nature, why they had a

civil war and why they need to accept a monarch to

lead them to prevent further wars

c. He also subtly explains to the monarch his role in

governing the people, through laws that are “good”,

not through punishment and abuse

d. Evidence of this comes from the beginning of the

text where it is explained that Hobbes was stirred

by “grief for the present calamities of my country”

Critique

a. Hobbes ideas on man, the laws of nature, development of

commonwealths, and the necessity of a sovereign

representative are academically sound

i. Hobbes uses a step by step, almost chronological build-

up of logic on man to explain his theory of a social

contract

ii. It is evidenced that man, since the beginning of

recorded history, has been at war with others for the 3

reasons he states (Competition, Distrust, and Glory)

III. His explanation of the Right of Nature corresponds with

what we see in nature. All creatures use their own power

to preserve their own life, including killing others.

B. One critique of Hobbes theory that “Nature has made men so equal in the

faculties of the body and mind that, though there be found one man sometimes

stronger in body or of quicker mind than another, yet, when all is reckoned together,

the difference between man and man is not so considerable that one man can claim

for himself any benefit to which another may not put forward a claim as well as he.”

I. It’s difficult to agree that if a man is stronger than another, that other has

the knowledge to overcome him

II. How could a group of men in a commonwealth then agree to turn over

themselves and their ability to survive alone (or in the group) to one man, if

they are inherently made the same as he?

C. Hobbes states that the second law of nature roughly means “do unto others,

what you would have done to you.”

I. Perfect in theory, but there would never be murder, or deceit, or any crime if

this were true

II. As he explains later in his definition of commonwealth, if the group agreed to

follow the laws of nature, without a ruling power, they wouldn’t have needed

to become a group in the 1st place

Critique cont…

1. What does this author have to tell us about being human in the modern age

Thomas Hobbes says that men, in a state of nature, without any form of

civilized government, are in a war of everyone against everyone. Without any

sort of government, life of man would be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and

short. Man is naturally selfish and craves power, but for there to be peace and

order in the world, he tells us we should place one man or group of men in

charge; one man or a group of men to have all the power. The only reason we

conform to an organized society and agree not to harm another person is to

protect ourselves from being harmed by other people. The social contract was

formed because of the constant fear of death.

2. Where do we see these ideas today in our own world? In our own lives?

We see this today in our own government and governments throughout the

world. There is usually one person or group of people, whether it be a

president, a king or queen, a dictator, or even an emperor, that holds all the

power in a sovereign state. This head of state has the authority over all the

citizens. He or she must make laws and rules to keep peace and order among

its people. In our country today we see this with the President of the United

States and Congress. Thomas Hobbes also believed that because we live

with a constant fear of a violent death that we have the right to defend

ourselves whenever necessary. We see this in our own world and our own

lives today with our second amendment right to bear arms.

Now that you have an understanding on Hobbes life answer the following:

1. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes is considered one of the most

influential examples of the social contract theory. Explain how the

United States and other powerful countries have implemented the

ideas and theories of Hobbes into their constitutions.

2. Hobbes had a pessimistic view on human nature stating that

humans are naturally selfish, and without order we would live

solitary, brutish, and short lives. Discuss how having a social

contract and organized government helps keep peace and order in

our society today.

3. One of Hobbes’ strongest theories is that the power of a whole

nation should be put into one person or a small group of people. Do

you think this makes society more corrupt since it is against our

human nature or do you think it works and helps society become

successful? Why or why not?

1. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes is considered one of the most influential

examples of the social contract theory. Explain how the United States and

other powerful countries have implemented the ideas and theories of

Hobbes into their constitutions.

Answer

We, the people of the United States, elect our government

officials who put these ideas and rules into effect. Thomas

Hobbes says that we should put one person with power in charge

or a small group of people. Here in the United States we actually

have both. We elect one person as President of the United States

to run our country. We also have Congress where we can elect

officials. Although we’re placing all the power within a select

number of people, the citizens of the country control who gets

elected. Hobbes believed that the world would turn into chaos if

there was no centralized government and now, thanks to him, all

countries of the world have a functioning government so mankind

can’t all have power.

2. Hobbes had a pessimistic view on human nature stating that humans are

naturally selfish, and without order we would live solitary, brutish, and short lives.

Discuss how having a social contract and organized government helps keep

peace and order in our society today.

Answer

Under the social contract, the government’s duty is to protect

and serve its people. Rules are made for a reason. There are

reasons that it’s illegal to lie, cheat, steal, and kill other than

the fact that it’s morally wrong. It simply keeps everyone safe if

you don’t do them. The President, monarchs, etc. make rules

and laws so that the citizens will be safe. Although not

everyone always follows rules, the majority of people do and

that’s how society functions so well.

3. One of Hobbes’ strongest theories is that the power of a whole

nation should be put into one person or a small group of people. Do

you think this makes society more corrupt since it is against our

human nature or do you think it works and helps society become

successful? Why or why not?

Answer

It is corrupt in the sense that humans are naturally selfish and

we naturally crave power. The average man wants all the

power for himself and to keep his own family safe. Although

the social contract keeps order, for the most part, there’s

always going to be those rule breakers; the ones who break

the law and ruin it for everybody. No matter how successful a

government or a society can be because of a social contract,

it will always be corrupt because it is against our human

nature and not everyone agrees all the time. We see it a lot

today. Not everyone is going to agree with what the President

says or does, no matter who the President is. Not everyone is

going to agree with court hearings and their verdicts. Not

everyone is going to agree that the grade they got is the

grade they deserve. Because of all of this uncertainty, there

will always be corruption within a society.

René Descartes

1596 - 1650

Three Major works by Descartes:

1.Discourse on Method (1637)

2.Meditations on First Philosophy (1641)

3. Principles of Philosophy (1644)

Descartes Life in a NutshellRené Descartes was a French mathematician and philosopher, born on

March 31, 1596 in La Haye, France, and deceased in the Netherlands on

February 11, 1650. His father was a council member in the Parliament of

Brittany, France, and his mother died before he could reach the age of one.

Although he was sent to live with his maternal grandmother, his father still

wished the best education for his son, and Descartes was sent the the

Jesuit college La Flèche, a prestigious military school, where its 1,200 men

students were taught mainly the “mathematical arts” of rhetoric and logic,

but also poetry, music, acting, horse-riding and fencing. He then spent four

years in the University of Poitiers, where he earned a Baccalaureate in

Law at the age of 22. Pursuing his education further as a well-rounded

man, Descartes added medicine and theology to his fields of knowledge.

He then decided to study something different than courses taught by

others, and began travelling to Northern Europe, living 15 months in the

Netherlands, learning about himself and others in what Descartes calls

“The book of the World.” During his travels, the mathematician also

furthered his knowledge in mathematics and geometry by learning and

teaching, and invented a universal method of deductive reasoning, which

while based on mathematics, is applicable to all sciences. This method

was later explained and formulated in his Discourse on Method, published

During his time, Descartes was considered mainly a great mathematician,

introducing to the world Carthesian Geometry. His rational dualism, believing that

mind and matter are separate, earned him the dislikes of the Christian Church,

which condemned his work on religion. However, today, we all remember him for

the revolutionary philosopher he was, through his main philosophical works:

Discourse on Method (1637) Meditations on First Philosophy (1641) and Principles

of Philosophy (1644.) René Descartes is today considered to be the father of

modern philosophy, not because of novel philosophical subjects, but by his

approach of this art. Having a strong background in sciences and especially

mathematics, Descartes applied his rational training to philosophy and religion,

where his approach was to erase all that seems to be known, all preconceived

ideas, in order “start fresh” with what is certain, seeing and understanding the

essential.

Bio continued…

Summary of Text

Descartes emphasizes the importance of deductive reasoning

to find a truth that is free from doubt. He found truth by

employing skeptical doubt to his surroundings, and then to

himself. He deduced that since he can doubt his existence, he

must truly exist. Descartes believed in the necessity of breaking

down an object of research and defining it first by it's most basic

truths, until a larger, more complex system arises. This way, he

knows the explanation of an object is derived from sound

reasoning. He uses this basis to his philosophy as a system to

approach understanding the natural world, and with it, he

answers complicated questions with a rational thought process.

His philosophical discoveries led to great advances in other

disciplines like geometry, metaphysics, and in the development

of analytical geometry.

3 Main Points

"The greatest advantage I derived from my study was this: although

1. Because he traveled and observed different cultures, Descartes realized

that our differences in opinions of rational behavior don't constitute a

different level of reasoning. Instead, it demonstrates that common truths are

not truths at all, and this realization contributed to his philosophy that is

based on doubting everything he'd previously understood as truth.

Everything we ought to believe to be certain, we have the capability to

discover with our own rational mind and he believed to find these truths, we

had to question what made our reality true within our individual experience

2. Descartes understood the world in it's most simplest of forms, and in

turn, he discovered ways to explain and understand the most complex

phenomena. To truly decipher the meaning of something he believes

that we need to find the simplest truth of the matter, and build upon it,

and build upon that. In this way, everything known to man has to be

connected in some way because one truth, can't exist without the other.

This is Descartes method of reasoning- within seemingly unexplainable

phenomena there are long chains of small undoubtedly truths waiting to

be connected.

"The long chains of simple and easy reasoning's by which

geometers reach the conclusions of their most difficult

demonstrations, had led me to imagine that all things, to the

knowledge of which man is competent, are mutually connected in

the same way. And that there is nothing so far removed from us as

to be beyond our reach, or so hidden that we cannot discover it,

provided only we refuse to accept the false for the true, and always

preserve in our thoughts the order necessary for the deduction of

one truth from another."

3. After Descartes concludes that since he's now found a sound method

of reasoning, he is capable of trusting his mind to prove the existence of

God and the soul. He understood that he needed to doubt his own

perceptions because he wasn't perfect, the very fact that he knew how to

doubt or even what doubt was meant that he wasn't perfect since there

were things he couldn't know without first doubting. His ability to imagine

something more perfect than himself, or God, must prove his existence

because as an imperfect being, Descartes couldn't possibly have learned

of his nature without his nature being true. So the existence of God is a

truth built in to our own existence, because our existence wouldn't make

sense without His.

"Next, from reflecting on the fact that I doubted, and that

consequently my being was not wholly perfect (for I clearly saw that it

was a greater perfection to know than to doubt), I was led to inquire

from where I had learned to think of something more perfect than

myself; and I clearly recognized that I must hold this notion from

some nature which was more perfect."

Context

Descartes was on a mission to discover truth, and to do this he

focused on studying different aspects of reasoning, a major theme of the

Enlightenment. It's understandable that Descartes was so focused on

finding undoubtedly truth because of his mathematical methods of

reasoning, stemming from his extensive background in geometry. In

addition, he studied both ethics and logic, so the combination of a love for

moral reasoning and mathematics combined into a deductive method of

understanding the world. Descartes was raised in a strict Catholic

environment, and knowing this could give a greater understanding to his

reasoning of proof for God's existence. Notably, he insists that if there is a

God, he must be good in nature. It's also important to note the hesitation

Descartes had for publishing Discourse on Method, because of his ties to

the Catholic Church, and his philosophy which has to approach God's

existence with doubt. This was seen as heresy in his time, because

Catholics were supposed to be unquestionably faithful to God. He uses a

scientific approach to explain something that was supposed to be based on

faith, and it was dangerous to question the authority and reasoning of the

powerful Catholic Church. His search for logic and reason is evident in his

quest for a seriously solid foundation of knowledge, where no "truth" is left

unquestioned, and nothing, even his own existence, is merely accepted.

Subtext

Critique

Where is the author plausibly correct? How so? Where can the author

be legitimately challenged? How so? Descartes is plausibly correct in his

argument "I think therefore I am." There is no other way to prove our

consciousness then our thoughts themselves. Descartes was a rationalist,

and he believed that everything that was real was due to deductive and

intellectual reasoning which takes place within our thoughts. He denies that

our senses can accurately depict the world without our intellect to make

sense of our perceptions. Therefore, our thinking processes must prove

our existence. To argue against this would be to argue against your own

existence and an argument against your own existence could never be

sound. A criticism often given to Descartes philosophy is his circular

reasoning on proving the existence of God. Descartes entire reasoning for

a God is based on reason itself. God gave us reason so it must be true,

and if there was no God there would be no certain, given knowledge.

Without trusting his own reasoning, he can't sufficiently prove in God's

existence, but without God's existence there would be no reason. The

circular argument explains one questionable phenomena, God, with

another questionable phenomena, our own ability to find certainty in our

knowledge.

1. What does this author have to tell us about being human in the modern

age?2.

2. Where do we see these ideas today in our own world? in our own lives

Descartes teaches us to test our reason, and question our reality so

that we can produce a clear image of the true external environment

without a clouded judgement. He says we might forget how much

power we have over our understanding of reality because we forget our

true nature living while in a material world. He says we are souls that

are separate, but connected to our bodies, and that we are not perfect,

like God, nor should we expect to be. These are some universal

themes in his philosophies.

We see Descartes ideas very prevalent in today's school system. Not only are

his philosophies studied in classrooms everywhere but he contributed

advanced discoveries in mathematics and sciences. For example, the

Cartesian coordinate system, created by Descartes, is the basis for Algebra

and Geometry. In our personal lives, I believe even hundreds of years later, a

lot of us could relate to his spiritual philosophies because they are universal

themes, concluded based on sound reasoning. Another theme evident in

Descartes academia was that he resolved problems with a scientific method,

even questions of faith. This method of reasoning seems reliable to our

generation because we grow up with the scientific method drilled into our

memory from the beginning of our schooling. Descartes skeptical doubt is

relatable to an educated generation.

Now that you have an understanding on Descartes life ask

yourself a few questions…

1.Explain why Descartes decided to publish his work and

elaborate on the ramifications that Descartes may face once

his work was published.

2.Descartes published Discourse on Method despite his ties

to the Catholic Church. Discuss in detail why his ties to the

Church would create a hesitation in publishing this work.

3. Examine and explain Descartes’ thoughts after he

discovered a “sound method of reasoning”. Specifically, what

was his self-perception and his relationship to God?

Answer:

Descartes thought it was important to share his methodology which could be

useful for a variety of inquiries. He found it important to move past the Church's

methodology of acceptance of the one truth given to us by God, to a new age of

giving the individual the right to define their own human experience by

questioning their certainty in reality. Without these skills, Descartes believed we

wouldn't advance because we weren't thinking in terms greater than the

material world. However, Descartes knew he would receive criticism from the

Church, yet he felt so strongly in his philosophy and in his scientific discoveries,

he would risk persecution for the good of scientific advancement.

1. Explain why Descartes decided to publish his work and elaborate on the

ramifications that Descartes may face once his work was published.

2. Descartes published Discourse on Method despite his ties to

the Catholic Church. Discuss in detail why his ties to the Church

would create a hesitation in publishing this work.

Answer:

Descartes philosophy was to approach God's existence with doubt.

This was seen as heresy in his time, because Catholics were

supposed to be unquestionably faithful to God. He uses a scientific

approach to explain something that was supposed to be based on

faith, and it was dangerous to question the authority and reasoning of

the powerful Catholic Church. His search for logic and reason is

evident in his quest for a seriously solid foundation of knowledge,

where no "truth" is left unquestioned, and nothing, even his own

existence, is merely accepted.

3. Examine and explain Descartes’ thoughts after he discovered a “sound

method of reasoning”. Specifically, what was his self-perception and his

relationship to God?

Answer:

Descartes discovered that he was capable of trusting his mind to prove the

existence of God and the soul. He understood that he needed to doubt his own

perceptions because he wasn't perfect. The very fact that he knew how to doubt

was meant that he wasn't perfect, considering that there were things he could

not know without first doubting. He realized that his ability to imagine something

more perfect than himself, or God, must prove his existence because he was

an imperfect being. Descartes couldn't possibly have learned of his nature

without his nature being true. So the existence of God is a truth built in to our

own existence, because our existence wouldn't make sense without His.

Works Cited:

Knoebel, E. (1988). René Descartes, Discourse on Method. In The

Modern world (4th ed., Vol. 3, pp. 20-30). San Diego: Harcourt

Brace Jovanovich.

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Online.

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Descartes>.

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Sep 05, 2014, fromhttp://www.biography.com/people/rené-descartes-

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