THOMAS HOBBES

1588-1679

BIOGRAPHY
BIRTH: April 5, 1588, Wiltshire, England

DEATH: December 4, 1679, Derbyshire, England

EARLY INFLUENCES: Father was a vicar Grew up in a well-off family

EDUCATION: Uncle provided for early education Enrolled in Oxford University in England by the age 15 where he studied classics Travelled to mainland Europe in 1610 to learn languages, to meet with scientists and to study different forms of government Studied Euclid during a stay in France from 1629-1631 and became interested in Mathematics Was influence by Galileo and Descartes

BIOGRAPHY
MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Wrote The Elements of Law Natural and Politic (1640) Wrote Leviathan (1651) Wrote Questions Concerning Liberty, Necessity and Chance

SIGNIFICANCE: Devised the idea of the 'Social Contract' Argued for the absolutism of monarchs because once the people had entered the 'Social Contract' they could not break it His ideas influenced later thinkers such as John Locke

STATE OF NATURE
"solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short" - each person would have a right, or license, to everything in the world. - would lead to a "war of all against all"
-

LAWS OF NATURE
lex naturalis - a precept, or general rule, found out by reason, by which a man is forbidden to do that which is destructive of his life, or takes away the means of preserving the same; and to omit that by which he thinks it may best be preserved.
-

CHAPTER XIV (OF THE FIRST AND SECOND NATURAL LAWS);

1. The first Law of nature is that every man ought to endeavor peace, as far as he has hope of obtaining it; and when he cannot obtain it, that he may seek and use all helps and advantages of war.

2. The second Law of nature is that a man be willing, when others are so too, as far forth, as for peace, and defense of himself he shall think it necessary, to lay down this right to all things; and be contented with so much liberty against other men, as he would allow other men against himself.

CHAPTER XV ("OF OTHER LAWS OF NATURE")

3. The third Law is that men perform their covenants made. - In this law of nature consists the fountain and original of justice... when a covenant is made, then to break it is unjust and the definition of injustice is no other than the not performance of covenant. And whatsoever is not unjust is just.

4. The fourth Law is that a man which receive benefit from another of mere grace, endeavor that he which give it, have no reasonable cause to repent him of his good will. Breach of this law is called ingratitude. 5. The fifth Law is complaisance: that every man strive to accommodate himself to the rest. The observers of this law may be called sociable; the contrary, stubborn, unsociable, forward, intractable.

6. The sixth Law is that upon caution of the future time, a man ought to pardon the offences past of them that repenting, desire it. 7. The seventh Law is that in revenges, men look not at the greatness of the evil past, but the greatness of the good to follow. 8. The eighth Law is that no man by deed, word, countenance, or gesture, declare hatred or contempt of another. The breach of which law is commonly called contumely.

9. The ninth Law is that every man acknowledge another for his equal by nature. The breach of this precept is pride. 10. The tenth law is that at the entrance into the conditions of peace, no man require to reserve to himself any right, which he is not content should be reserved to every one of the rest. The breach of this precept is arrogance, and observers of the precept are called modest.

11. The eleventh law is that if a man be trusted to judge between man and man, that he deal equally between them. 12. The twelfth law is that such things as cannot be divided, be enjoyed in common, if it can be; and if the quantity of the thing permit, without stint; otherwise proportionably to the number of them that have right.

13. The thirteenth law is the entire right, or else...the first possession (in the case of alternating use), of a thing that can neither be divided nor enjoyed in common should be determined by lottery. 14. The fourteenth law is that those things which cannot be enjoyed in common, nor divided, ought to be adjudged to the first possessor; and in some cases to the first born, as acquired by lot.

15. The fifteenth law is that all men that mediate peace be allowed safe conduct. 16. The sixteenth law is that they that are at controversy, submit their Right to the judgment of an Arbitrator. 17. The seventeenth law is that no man is a fit Arbitrator in his own cause.

18. The eighteenth law is that no man should serve as a judge in a case if greater profit, or honor, or pleasure apparently arise [for him] out of the victory of one party, than of the other. 19. The nineteenth law is that in a disagreement of fact, the judge should not give more weight to the testimony of one party than another, and absent other evidence, should give credit to the testimony of other witnesses.

PRINCIPAL CAUSES OF QUARREL

1. Competition for gain - use violence, to make themselves masters of other men's persons, wives, children, and cattle
2. Diffidence - for safety - to defend them

3. Glory for reputation - for trifles, as a word, a smile, a different opinion, and any other sign of undervalue, either direct in their persons or by reflection in their kindred, their friends, their nation, their profession, or their name.

NATURE OF MAN
-

Nature had made men so equal, in the faculties of body and mind, as that though there be found one man sometimes manifestly 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, as that one man can thereupon claim to himself any benefit, to which another may not pretend, as well as he.

if any two men desire the same thing, which nevertheless they cannot both enjoy, they become enemies, and in the way to their End, . . . endeavor to destroy, or subdue one another .

STATE OF WAR
There is always war of every one against every one. - man is enemy to every man. WAR - not in battle only, or the act of fighting; but in a tract of time, wherein the will to contend by battle is sufficiently known. - There only need be the possibility of such a war. - it is better to be conquered by ones neighbours than to live in a war of each against all.
-

It is the method of governance under which much of the world presently suffers - When everyone within the country are at war with each other, then for the State of War to survive, the rest of the world must be turned against itself, as well. - PAX QURITUR BELLO Translated: Peace is sought through War.
-

LAWS OF NATURE
The laws of nature may be summarized by the precept :

'Act toward others in a manner in which you would want them to act toward you.'
However, this precept is presented in a negative form by Hobbes, who argues that the precept:

'Do not act toward others in a manner in which you would not want them to act toward you
the most intelligible method of evaluating moral conduct

CONCEPT OF EQUALITY
Inequality does not exist in the natural condition. Any inequality that exists is the result of civil laws, not natural ones.
Nature have made men so equal in the faculties of body and mind

CONCEPT OF EQUALITY
There must be equal benefit from the law 11th law: Judges must deal Equally between all people. This is equity.

10th law: Do not reserve any right for yourself that you would not allow to others.
12th law: Things capable of division are enjoyed in common; otherwise, proportional to right.

SOCIAL CONTRACT
Its development is a move away from theological or religious based thinking to inquiry founded on scientific reasoning. Used as a means of demonstrating the value of government, the grounds for political obligation and authority over a particular geographical area

The life of man would be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short. - the logical starting point that he assumed and from which he developed his structure for a safe civil society.

SOCIAL CONTRACT
People give away their power to the government in exchange for protection
Only the establishment of sovereign power could safeguard them from the insecurity of the state of nature Rebellion was not justifiable

COMMONWEALTH
A commonwealth (or Leviathan) is a common power to which

all individuals submit themselves, and under which they agree to obey a sovereign who protects their rights, and who defends their common interests.

COMMONWEALTH
It delivers an environment that keeps subjects out of the State of Nature and provides them with peace and defense, the Sovereign derives certain rights that are necessary for the task. Liberty as the absence of opposition and subjects have the power to move. A sovereign is given power by its subjects for the purpose of unifying every subject's understanding of right and wrong. Subjects come together and elect a sovereign

COMMONWEALTH
Also called great LEVIATHAN or STATE (in Latin, CIVITAS) An artificial man

sovereignty is an artificial soul

the magistrates and other officers of judicature and execution is an artificial joints

reward and punishment are the nerves

the wealth and riches of all the particular members are the strength goods produced is the nutrition money is the blood of the body

COMMONWEALTH
salus populi (the peoples safety) is its business counselors are the memory equity and laws is an artificial reason and will

concord is the health

sedition is the sickness civil war is the death

2 TYPES OF COMMONWEALTH
1. POLITICAL COMMONWEALTH or COMMONWEALTH BY INSTITUTION formed through agreement
2. COMMONWEALTH OF ACQUISITION formed through force

THREE FORMS OF AUTHORITY

1. MONARCHY the best because it offers the greatest consistency and lowest potential for conflict, limiting the decision-making body to one Monarch is superior because it most directly concentrates power without constraints.

2. ARISTOCRACY A part of the population rules

3. DEMOCRACY A representative assembly governs Weaker than a monarchy because they are less able to produce peace and security

Public and private good are united The sovereign can have a secret counsel Monarchy is more consistent There is no infighting or warring factions caused by envy, self-interest, or any other human imperfections

12 RIGHTS OF THE SOVEREIGN

1. Subjects owe him sole loyalty 2. Subjects cannot be freed from their obligation to him 3. Dissenters must yield to the majority in declaring a sovereign 4. The sovereign cannot be unjust or injure any innocent subject 5. The sovereign cannot be put to death 6. The sovereign may determine what ideas are acceptable (he is the ultimate judge of philosophical/scientific first principles) and may censor doctrines that are repugnant to peace (ideas that may cause discord within the population)

12 RIGHTS OF THE SOVEREIGN

7. The sovereign prescribes legislative rules

8. The sovereign has judicial power in all controversies, civil and intellectual
9. The sovereign may make war and peace with other commonwealths 10. The sovereign may choose his counselors 11. The sovereign has the powers of reward and punishment 12. The sovereign may make all civil appointments, including that of the militia.

The original cover of Thomas Hobbes's work LEVIATHAN, 1651

ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY

Absolute sovereignty is the form of government most likely to be able to avoid a return to the State of Nature; and that people can only live in peace if they are subjected to an absolute sovereign.

ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY
absolute

sovereignty is the best form of government An absolute sovereign was such a sovereign with unlimited power

LEVIATHAN

LEVIATHAN(or the Matter ,Form, and Power of a commonwealth, ecclesiastical and civil) Leviathan refers to a government which unifies the collective will of many individuals and which unites them under the authority of a sovereign power. For Hobbes, a civil commonwealth is like leviathan in its vast size and strength, because it may unify the collective will of many.

LEVIATHAN

A Leviathan is able to enforce and administer natural and civil laws, because it embodied the power of many individuals.
Parts: Of Man, Of Commonwealth, Of a Christian Commonwealth, And of Kingdom of Darkness.