Free Samples to Learn How to Craft a Strong Essay on Thomas Hobbes

Philosophy

In this paper, we are going to talk about the Leviathan, which is a treatise of an English philosopher Thomas Hobbes who was a younger contemporary of Francis Bacon. Under the influence of ideas of Bacon, Thomas Hobbes began exploring the political and religious issues of his era. Of his many treatises on state structure most important is Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil. In addition, we are going to describe Thomas Hobbes idea of the state of nature. Also, we are going to express its influence on his idea of ‘ ...

Philosophy

With the advent of the Scientific Revolution, there was an increased level of comfort in the society which led to probing the ancient notions or the beliefs that were long held by the majority. A majority of philosophers started giving out their own opinions about a variety of subjects like politics, government, social order, economics, and religion among others. The Era of Enlightenment started with this new found curiosity about scholarly or philosophical opinion becoming popular in the entire Europe. The Enlightenment Era was a time period in the 18th century Europe, which was a movement where philosophers applied ...

The Enlightenment period also referred to as the Age of Reason is used to describe the time in history began with the end of Thirty Years War and to the end of the French Revolution. This period marked a significant radical shift in the government, culture, and politics. The period embraced some philosophies to think as well as explore the world (Best 30).. In global enlightened thinkers were considered to think objectively without prejudice. The period was marked by rationalism, reasoning, and empiricism. The argument was advocated as a means of establishing reliable systems of government, religion, and ...

The political philosophies of Thomas More, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke show a progression in political thought in Europe from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment. Thomas More was a Christian Humanist whose critiques of politics in Renaissance Europe were expressed in his most famous work, Utopia, published in 1516. In Utopia, More contrasts the corruption, chaos, and poverty of the real world with an invented society, Utopia, where the laws are simple, everyone is equal, and things are owned communally instead of being private property. His ideas would later become important to the development of socialism, but in his ...

The two most influential and widely-acknowledged philosophical minds that have reformed the social theories of political strategy, social protection, and nuances of human nature, are Nicollo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes. Both these eminent philosophers worked on the social contract theory to define how the ideal state should function and succeed in its ventures under the rule of a sovereign leader . However, there are differences in the two theories, in terms of the clarity and description of the exact nature of roles and responsibilities of the sovereign ruler (Smith," Introduction to Political Philosophy.Lecture 12 - The Sovereign State: Hobbes, Leviathan"). ...

How did Thomas Hobbes Understand The Connection Between Religion And Politics?

Introduction Thomas Hobbes was born in 1588 in England; he was an English Philosopher of the 17th century who was best known for the work done in the fields of political and moral philosophies. He wrote a book named as Leviathan (1651) in which he shared his political views. The early life of Thomes Hobbes was spent free of anxiety as he attained education from the finest institutions where he interacted with the most intellectual people and prominent personalities who were expert in their fields. His work struggled a lot to gain society acceptance. His books are the depiction ...

Francisco de Vitoria: On the American Indians

First Level Analysis Francisco de Vitoria was a theologian who wrote during the time of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. In his political treatise entitled On The American Indians, he suggests the Spanish should question by what right they have subjected the “barbarians” to their rule. Indeed, de Vitoria is immensely focused on investigating the political power of the Spanish in the New World, and in this particular passage, he determines that the barbarians that the Spanish have conquered in the New World should not be ruled under the dominion of the Spanish. He likens these people to ...

Thomas Hobbes is a 17-century English philosopher famous for his contributions into the theory of political philosophy. Thomas Locke believed that that the success of any state is in the monarchy and that only people’s full obedience to the sovereign can guarantee them protection and safety. Thomas Hobbes saw a success of a state in the theory of social contract under which people, initially born with rights, relinguish all their rights to the monach who, in his/her turn, protects his/her people and guarantees peace in the state itself. This theory is based on the idea that all people ...

The Age of Enlightenment is also commonly referred to as the Age of Reason. It lasted from 1650 to 1800. Many agree that the cause of Enlightenment was the Thirty Year War (1618-1648) though it was only an outcrop of many underlying issues that faced Europe at the time (Broner, 122). It came to an end during the French revolution. It is such wars that motivated German philosophers and authors to criticize the idea of nationalism and wars to protect nationhood. The German authors included Hugo Grotius and John Cornenius, who were the pioneers of the ideas that formed ...

Introduction

The World Bewitched (1965) was written by Bekker to outline theological and philosophical viewpoints that challenged the notion that ghosts, devils, and angels had an influence on historical events, as well as nature.The story was written at a time when Christianity was being perfected in England and the rest of Europe. During this time, The World Bewitched (1965) was written, Bekker served as a minister in Amsterdam. Protestants needed a philosophical and theological approach to accentuate the assumption that God was the ruler of the world. The need to project God as the authority while discrediting the influence of ...

This here is a paper that aims to address, in a philosophical manner, the question on whether an individual’s ideologies oblige him to enjoy or sulk in happiness. Drawing on the conclusions made in the assigned readings and other significant philosophical texts, the author of this paper tries to answer the main question in a close ended but evidence-based manner. In order to do this, a working definition of the term ideology must be provided first. There are numerous ways how one can define ideology. Within a philosophical framework, ideology can be defined as a collection of beliefs, ...

Considering the enormous influence of the works of Machiavelli and Hobbes on the development of political philosophy, it is possible to discover certain parallels between the works of these two famous activists. Just like the famous Italian enlightener was interested in the history of Ancient Rome with a view to analyzing those military and political deeds of great people who deserve imitating, and which was depicted by Niccolò in the Prince and the Discourses on Livy, Hobbes also seemed to be interested in ancient history (Machiavelli, 1988). The philosophies of Machiavelli and Hobbes are also united by the common ...

Philosophy Questions

Philosophy Questions

Compare and contrast the views of John Searle and Rene Descartes on dualism.

For Rene Descartes’ dualism is Spiritual; for John Searle, it’s Physical. Descartes believes the mind has consciousness and with that power we can say that the ‘seat-of-intelligence’ belongs to the brain. He also believes that through this we acquire self awareness, but for Searle, consciousness is not only because of the brain. Though brains cause consciousness, he points out that the brain is not the only thing that can produce consciousness. He even states that if ever we built an artificial machine that has consciousness. it further proves the point. He also says that the relationship ...

Question 1: Hobbes Leviathan

The creation of a commonwealth without a leader provided an uncharted political region for England. There were no regulations to govern the people. The monarchy came along after the 17th century after the insights of Thomas Hobbes. Later on, the parliament prescribed an executive form of leadership contributing towards a fluid political setup with corruption and factional fighting. Many individuals doubted the advantages of an unregulated democracy. Thomas Hobbes reflected on the political turmoil and wrote the Leviathan to contemplate on the fear and insecurity in England that led to the civil conflict. The aristocratic associations he provided resulted ...

The current discussion focuses on the socio-political ideas of Thomas Hobbes. In this regard, the matter of subordination and order is explicated through a prism of philosophers’ views on racism. As a result, racism is determined as a multi-faceted occurrence that involves cognitive, ideological, and inborn forms of hostility. Thus, doctrines of Appiah are considered as pillars of political realism that is inherent to the judgments of thinker.

It is noteworthy to stress that the idea of the state has a particular meaning in terms of political realism that is included in the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. Thereby, thinker’s suppositions about social ...

In modern times, the theory of natural rights and social contract had finally become exempt from its previous theological justification. At the same time it became the basis for a rational understanding of the society and the state. The adoption of social contract theory in legal thought creates an opportunity for the different political concepts to be revealed – in favor of the monarchy and against it (in favor of the society). Hugo Grotius, a prominent representative of the school of natural law in early modern times shared its general theory of the origin of the state contract. Grotius and Hobbes stood ...

Part one

John Locke who is a British Philosopher and Baron de Motesquieu a French philosopher had similar ideas and thoughts on the formation of the government. However, each of them defines unique path, which lead to the same conclusion.

John Locke is mainly famous as the father of liberalism following his exclusive thoughts on natural rights as well as liberties. According to him, all people are equal and independent. He argues that all individuals have the right to protect their life, possessions, as well as liberty from theft, as well as destruction. Following the incidences of conflict that will always arise in a ...

Introduction

The topic about humanity has always been a complex subject. This has caused many people from all walks of life to try and understand what it truly means. Many believe that humanity is inherently evil while others believe that it is good. The human psyche involves the body and the nature. This is what drives the humans to do certain acts. There are many evidence that show how humanity is evil such as rape, murder, torture, terrorism, bullying and stealing. The main force that has driven humanity to evil doings is because people think of themselves and their needs thus ...

Introduction

The rule of law (normocracy) is primarily alluded to as the influence and authority of law around a community specifically as a bottleneck upon behavior including behavior of state officials. The origin of the phrase can be traced back to around 16th century where it was familiar to ancient philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes and John Lockes. Definitions of the rule of law fall into two classes: (1) those that underscore the closures that the rule of law is proposed to serve inside social order, (for example, maintaining law and order, or giving foreseeable and efficient judgments), and (2) ...

The text, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War is an account of the war that took place in Greek and that involved numerous instances of conflict and cooperation between the feuding political units. This paper seeks to examine the frequent conflicts and cooperation between the political units, the causes of such occurrences; the principal actors and the consequences of this phenomenon. In the second part of the paper, we make an assessment of both the causes and the conduct of the War and make the case whether the same is applicable to the 21st century or not. The ...

The US revolution and absolute independence did not come cheap. It came as a result of the immense sacrifices, determination and war waged by Americans with the colonial masters. Of course, there were oppositions, several factors set the pace for the revolution and the creation of the United States of America. A number of documents and early thinkers had influential effects in the drafting of the American Declaration of Independence. The writings of Thomas Hobbes can be classified among these early literatures that helped shaped the revolution, although with some exceptions. In the book, Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes argued that people ...

Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are two English philosophers of the 17th century, who explored the nature of political processes such as the emergence of states and the subordination of the individual or society to political power. Although they used the same philosophical and scientific instruments and share categorical apparatus, their conclusions are quite different to each other. The fact that their ideas influence the political process in England at that time indicates the historical importance of their ideas. The fact that these ideas have been adopted by different political groups indicates a significant difference in the estimates. Hobbes and ...

Social Contracts as proposed by Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau

Numerous psychologists have contributed immensely to the field of psychology and human behavior and a few famous such psychologists are Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Rousseau, among other who have contributed largely to the field of psychology. All the above mentioned psychologists are exemplary thinkers as each one of them has grappled to an exceptional extent in discussing the problem of origin. Considering Locke, this encompasses the origin of the psychic body of the individual; and while with Hobbes, it encompasses the origin of the social organization of the humankind. The theory of Social Contracts as proposed by Thomas Hobbes ...

Politics is intricately intertwined with power and influence. The juxtaposition of the desire to establish dominion over others and the need to influence the subjects creates the conundrum called politics. The modern definition of politics is inclined towards the means of gaining power and exercising the positions of governance over a state or a community. In the antiquity and the middle ages, power was concentrated to the aristocrats and monarchs. It was left out to the rich and well-of in the society. Ideally, the conception of politics as being representative of the people’s wishes was confined to the wealthy. In ...

Comparing John Locke and Thomas Hobbes

John Locke and Thomas Hobbes are two eminent English philosophers of the seventeenth century. Both of them witnessed the era of the English revolution and their views were affected by the revolution. Their thinking was similar in some ways but simultaneously they also had the difference in their opinions. This paper offers to present views of both the scholars and further analyses the difference in their philosophy. Hobbes has pessimistic opinion about human behaviour. He perceives humans as nasty and brutal and suggests controlling this behaviour by the state. Hobbes suggests that humans are not social animal by ...

Individuals need common or collective power to keep them in awe and to direct their action to the common benefit. To erect that one common power, then we have to give all our strengths to one man or an assembly and reduce all our wills to one will which is spearheaded by the man or assembly which we collectively erect to be our representative in bringing our interest easily than when we act as individual. The erection of such a common power will have unlimited right and can access privileges that an individual or a group of non-united individual cannot acquire. ...

Introduction

The dialogue that follows Crito’s visit to his tutor Socrates in the early morning on the eve of his death is one that touches on fidelity to the law and the elements of the social contract in general. Socrates faces the death sentence for the crime of impiety and has resigned to his fate. Crito’s visit is not to say goodbye, but rather to see to it that he escapes from his impending death because he regards his trial as an injustice. He argues that allowing himself to be killed would be an insult to him (Crito) ...

Introduction

In trying to understand the conditions that preceded the formation of government, philosophers and thinkers during the age of enlightenment hypothesized that there existed a period before the formation of the social contract. This period is referred to as the state of nature. It was argued that the chaos experienced informed on the people sacrificing some of their freedoms and putting authority on a different entity, typically representing the government thereby leading to the emergence of the state of society. To achieve the essential element of order and to forestall the adverse effect of the state of nature, it is theorized ...

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and John Locke (1632-1704) lived during the Pre-Enlightenment period. However, their philosophies influence and in fact introduced the Enlightenment period. This refers to a period of reason in which man was to think logically in arriving at a decision. The two philosophers influenced the thought process especially in the field of law. This paper shall compare and contrast the ideologies of the two Englishmen. It is essential to appreciate at this point that Thomas Hobbes preceded John Locke and that the two had the same leanings in thought save for the few deviations which shall be discussed in ...

In deterrence theory it is believed that people weigh the gains and consequences of violating or obeying the law. We have two classifications of deterrence theory: general and specific deterrence theory. General deterrence prevents general population crime. This is because one is punished as an example to the rest. This is because one has not yet performed the crime; the punishment is to show the horror of what would happen if they committed the crime, thus deterring them from even the thought whereas the pictorial representation of the horror of reccurpesion is very fresh and clear. For example ...

Introduction

The complex nature of human government has been in existence since the classical period. In addition, the human government continued to employ titanic resources, which made it further complex. Consequently, political philosophers tried to create an understanding and influence various stakeholders with respect to human government. Such political philosophers have attempted to provide intricacies as well as paradoxes revolving around the political system that controls and manages humanity. Amongst the political philosophers who have provided the intricacies and paradoxes on human government include Niccolo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes. Machiavelli and Hobbes have provided similar and divergent views on purpose ...

Introduction

The American democracy stands out as one of the most stable and effective democracies. Since the declaration of Independence by the founding fathers, America has undergone tremendous changes that have seen it through progress. The process has been evolutionary and painful, often buoyed with bloodshed, wars and unending quests for justice. It is this paper’s contention that the democracy of America was influenced by four main theorists whose works continues to determine governance and the system of government. The theorists include Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Baron Montesquieu and A.V. Dicey. This paper would canvass their theories, how they ...

These letters by John and Abigail Adams describe the important political, philosophical, economic and military issues that were first and foremost in the minds of the American people around the time of independence in 1776. Abigail Adams in particular was concerned about the abolition of slavery, the rights of blacks and women, and better economic and educational opportunities for the poor. Both were strongly opposed to tyranny, despotism and aristocracy, both in Britain and among the gentry and the Loyalists at home, and thought that armed rebellion and a declaration of independence were necessary in this struggle for liberty and ...

Thomas Ertman identified four types of territorial states in early modern Europe, all of which faced significant strains, challenges from below and demands for change that finally culminated in the French Revolution of 1789. Even Britain, which had already experienced two revolutions in the 17th Century that overthrow the absolutist monarchy and established the principle of parliamentary supremacy, underwent significant strains and conflicts at that time, with demands for greater democracy in political and economic life. Britain’s bureaucratic constitutionalism, which had replaced the absolute Tudor and Stuart monarchies, managed to weather the storm more or less intact (Ertman ...

Decision

It is imperatively important for every individual to consider how he or she can influence his or her future. Equally important is to consider how decisions individuals make change the course of their life and ultimately the future. This paper analyzes a life-changing decision that my brother had to make concerning his profession. This issue is important to me because today is the third anniversary of the day that i made that most important decision in my life. The decision was to quit a job with AIG stores in a hurry, in order to start working for McDonald’s on Monday, November 1, ...

ABSTRACT

The United States was founded on the principle that all persons had natural rights to life, liberty and property, which is to say that the Framers of the Constitution accepted the theories of John Locke rather than Thomas Hobbes. Government did not simply exist to maintain law and order and keep the masses under control, but to preserve, defend and guarantee the rights of the people. By popular demand in the 1780s, the Bill of Rights was also added to the Constitution, which stated expressly which rights were guaranteed to the people and what the exact limits of government ...

Philosophy has gone through periods of revolutions during which new radical ideas were incorporated and became mainstream knowledge. On of this period was stated by Rene Descartes who used clear and apparently simplistic methods to legitimize the new science and asserted that the human is different from the mind. Descartes argued that the human mind is rational and adaptable and thus it can not be compared with any automation generated from clever designs. Contemporary philosophers in England reacted differently to Descartes ideas. Thomas Hobbes, a political philosopher did not agree that humans should be treated any different because of their ...

Thomas Hobbes uses the state of nature as the basis for his ethical and political thought. The state of nature is a postulation of an imaginary situation in which there is no form of government. People living in this state would be free to determine their lives as they please. The individual would be the judge, the jury and executioner of their own fate. In this state there is perpetual restlessness as everyone tries to gain power for purposes of self-preservation.

Hobbes equates human beings to any other physical object or machine whose operation and movement can be described in ...

Explication des textes

Introduction Explication des textes is an internal revelation of logic in a text. Explication des textes requires the involvement a comprehensive examination of objectives and purpose of an image, structure, style and other feature of art. The front piece picture was a creative work of Thomas Hobbes. For the purpose of introduction, Thomas Hobbes was a Derbyshire philosopher, historian and scientist of the 15th century. He is well known for his well articulated master piece of 1651 called the leviathan. He opinion was that the initial role of the government was to maintain collective security. In his arguments, he suggests that ...

1. What were the causes of revolution in the British colonies of North America in the 18th century; France in the 18th century; and Mexico in the 19th and 20th centuries? The feeling of inadequate representation caused unpopular unrest that led to revolutions in France, America and Mexico. Americans opposed taxation without representation and in France, heavy taxation and king’s incompetence made the people rise up to overthrow the political establishment. In Mexico, oppression of the majority by a clique of powerful elite made the masses take up arms. Desire for equality and freedom informed these revolutions. ...