THOMAS HOBBES AND JOHN LOCKE

Nature of ManState of NatureSocial Contract Theory

John Locke Thomas Hobbes

Nature of Man

State of Nature

Social Contract

NATURE OF MAN

God makes man naturally free to pursue life, liberty, health, and

property as natural rights.

A human being is by nature a social animal

Humanity ought not to harm others in their life, health,

liberty, or possessions and in turn expect their own rights

to respected

NATURE OF MAN

Man is not a social animal; that is, society is

impossible without the coercive power of a state.

Human beings are neither by nature selfish nor rational

Human beings are programmed, mechanical objects to pursue self-interested ends, without regard for

anything other than the avoidance of pain and the incentive of pleasure

human judgment is distorted by self-interest and can be easily swayed with rhetoric that is often neither directed

toward the public good nor the individual's good.

STATE OF NATURE

It is the natural condition of mankind, is a state of perfect and complete

liberty to conduct one’s life as one best sees fit, free from the interference of

others

. The State of Nature is pre-political, but it is not pre-moral. Persons are assumed to be equal to one another in such a state,

and therefore equally capable of discovering and being bound by the Law

of Nature. The Law of Nature, which is (on Locke’s view) the basis of all morality, and

given to us by God, commands that we not harm others with regards to their “life,

health, liberty, or possessions”

STATE OF NATUREIn the State of Nature, men are naturally and exclusively self-

interested, they are more or less equal to one another, (even the strongest

man can be killed in his sleep), there are limited resources, and yet there is

no power able to force men to cooperate.

State of Nature can be unbearably brutal. No long-term or complex

cooperation is possible because the State of Nature can be aptly described

as a state of utter distrust. It is the state of perpetual and unavoidable

war.

SOCIAL CONTRACT

WHAT IS A SOCIAL CONTRACT AND WHY DO WE NEED TO FORM A

CIVIL SOCIETY?”

We give up our right to ourselves exact retribution for crimes in

return for impartial justice backed by overwhelming force. We retain the right to life and liberty, and gain the right to just, impartial

protection of our property.

It is the preservation of their wealth, and preserving their

lives, liberty, and well-being in general.

WHAT IS A SOCIAL CONTRACT AND WHY DO WE NEED TO FORM A

CIVIL SOCIETY?”

WHAT IS A SOCIAL CONTRACT AND WHY DO WE NEED TO FORM A

CIVIL SOCIETY?”Men are naturally self-interested, yet they are

rational, they will choose to submit to the authority of a Sovereign in order to be able to

live in a civil society, which is conducive to their own interests.

To ensure their escape from the State of Nature, they must both agree to live

together under common laws, and create an enforcement mechanism for the social contract and the laws that

constitute it.

“WHAT IF THE PEOPLE VIOLATED THE CONTRACT?”

They must be punished with accordance on the existing

laws of the civil society

“WHAT IF THE RULER VIOLATED THE CONTRACT?”

“WHAT IF THE RULER VIOLATED THE CONTRACT?”

When the king becomes a tyrant and acts against the interests of the

people, they have a right, if not an outright obligation, to resist his

authority. The social compact can be dissolved and the process to create

political society begun anew.

If a ruler seeks absolute power, if he acts both as judge and participant in disputes, he puts himself in a state of war with his subjects and we have the right and the

duty to kill such rulers and their servants.

REVOLUTION

“WHAT IF THE RULER VIOLATED THE CONTRACT”

there can happen no breach of covenant on the part of the

sovereign; and consequently none of his subjects, by any pretence of forfeiture, can be freed from his

subjection.” The ruler’s will defines good and evil for his subjects. The

King can do no wrong, because lawful and unlawful, good and evil, are merely commands, merely the

will of the ruler.

No right to rebel

“ABSOLUTE”

REFERENCES:

http://www.iep.utm.edu/hobmoral/

http://www.iep.utm.edu/locke/#SH2f

http://jim.com/hobbes.html