THE PESSIMISTS:
MAN THE ANIMAL IS INHERENTLY FLAWED BY NATURE; HE NEEDS SOCIETY AND LAWS
FOR OWN GOOD
"Out of timber so crooked as that from which man is made nothing entirely
straight can be built."
Immanuel Kant
For the laws of nature (as justice, equity, modesty, mercy, and, in sum, doing to others as we would be done to) of themselves, without the terror of some power, to cause them to be observed, are contrary to our natural passions; that carry us to partiality, pride, revenge and the like.
During the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that conditions called war; and such a war, as if of every man, against every man....[with] no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; And the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.
Thomas Hobbes
Leviathan
STATE OF WAR:
Civilians murdered in a Lebanon without law or government
and descended into utter anarchy and a war of all against all.
"With men, the state of nature is not a state of peace, but war."
Immanuel Kant
Perpetual Peace"I have long been settled in my own opinion, that neither Philosophy, nor Religion, nor Morality, nor Wisdom, nor interest, will ever govern nations or Parties, against their Vanity, their Pride, their Resentment or Revenge, or their Avarice or Ambition. Nothing but Force and Power and Strength can restrain them."
John Adams to Thomas Jefferson Oct 9, 1787
THE OPTIMISTS: MAN IS GOOD BY NATURE
BUT CORRUPTED BY SOCIETY"Man is born free, yet everywhere he is chains!"
Jean Jacques Rousseau
The Social Contract
Man is naturally a kind, benevolent animal, but he is dropt into such a damn'd needy situation here in this vexatious world, and has such a whoreson, hungry, growling, multiplying Pack of Necessities, Appetites, Pasions & Desires about him, ready to devour him, for want of other food; that in fact he must lay aside his cares for others that he may look properly to himself.
Robert Burns
June 30, 1788
Thomas Hobbes
(1588-1679)
THOMAS HOBBES
some famous Thomas Hobbes quotes
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Thomas Hobbes was born in London in 1588. He received his college education at Oxford University in England, where he studied classics. Hobbes traveled to other European countries several times to meet with scientists and to study different forms of government. During his time outside of England, Hobbes became interested in why people allowed themselves to be ruled and what would be the best form of government for England. In 1651, Hobbes wrote his most famous work, entitled Leviathan. In it, he argued that people were naturally wicked and could not be trusted to govern. Therefore, Hobbes believed that an absolute monarchy - a government that gave all power to a king or queen - was best.
Hobbes believed that humans were basically selfish creatures who would do anything to better their position. Left to themselves, he thought, people would act on their evil impulses. According to Hobbes, people therefore should not be trusted to make decisions on their own. In addition, Hobbes felt that nations, like people, were selfishly motivated. To Hobbes, each country was in a constant battle for power and wealth. To prove his point, Hobbes wrote, "If men are naturally in a state of war, why do they always carry arms and why do they have keys to lock their doors?"
Governments were created, according to Hobbes, to protect people from their own selfishness and evil. The best government was one that had the great power of a leviathan, or sea monster. Hobbes believed in the rule of a king because he felt a country needed an authority figure to provide direction and leadership. Because the people were only interested in promoting their own self-interests, Hobbes believed democracy - allowing citizens to vote for government leaders - would never work. Hobbes wrote, "All mankind [is in] a perpetual and restless desire for power... that [stops] only in death." Consequently, giving power to the individual would create a dangerous situation that would start a "war of every man against every man" and make life "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
Despite his distrust of democracy, Hobbes believed that a diverse group of representatives presenting the problems of the common person would, hopefully, prevent a king from being cruel and unfair. During Hobbes' lifetime, business began to have a big influence on government. Those who could contribute money to the government were given great status, and business interests were very powerful. In order to offset the growing power of business, Hobbes believed that an individual could be heard in government by authorizing a representative to speak on their behalf. In fact, Hobbes came up with the phrase "voice of the people," which meant that one person could be chosen to represent a group with similar views. However, this "voice" was merely heard and not necessarily listened to - final decisions lay with the king.
