Thomas Hobbes' State of Nature

Thomas Hobbes

• Proposed that a society without rules and laws would be a dreadful place to live, referring to it as a "state of nature"
• In a state of nature, people would act on their own accord, without responsibility to the community
• Life would be Darwinian, where the strongest survive and the weak perish
• A society without rules would lack comforts and necessities, including commerce, culture, knowledge, leisure, security, and arts

Social Contract

• The social contract is unwritten and inherited at birth
• It dictates that individuals will not break laws or certain moral codes, and in return, they receive security, survival, education, and other necessities

John Locke

• Viewed men as born into a "perfect state of nature" with natural rights and freedoms, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
• Believed men are born good and should be trusted to govern themselves through the creation of laws that protect them from unjust government actions

Jean Jacques Rousseau

• Believed that men are born free, but are shackled by oppressive governments
• Thought it is the duty of men to take control of the government and establish a government responsive to the "general will"
• His views are considered closest to the original idea of direct democracy, as practiced in ancient Greece

Evaluating the Views of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau

• Their philosophies can be placed along a political spectrum, involving a trade-off between natural liberties and freedoms versus strong authoritarian governments
• Hobbes saw the role of government as providing security and defense, with people owing everything to a strong leader
• Locke saw the role of government as protecting individual rights, with governments existing only to serve the people
• Rousseau's views emphasize the importance of political liberties and the need for a responsive government

Historical Context

• Hobbes lived during the English Civil War and believed in the Divine Right of kings
• Locke and Rousseau lived during the Enlightenment, a time of questioning authority and promoting reason and individual rights
• The Enlightenment led to economic and political prosperity, and the rise of property ownership by the common man

Explore the concept of a society without rules and laws as proposed by Thomas Hobbes. Learn how a state of nature would lead to a Darwinian existence and understand the importance of governance in society.