Thomas Hobbes wrote his flagship piece, Leviathan, in 1651, during the height of the English Civil war. The political turmoil of the time, coupled with the heightened faith in rationality inherent to the Age of Reason, inspired Hobbes to articulate the first of the social-contract-based political philosophies, and to advocate a strong Monarchy with centralized power.
Historical Context of Hobbes Writing
Writing in 1651, Hobbes’s approach to philosophy was congruent with other philosophies developed during the Age of Reason. The Age of Reason was a period in western thinking that was kicked off by Renes Descartes and developed throughout the Seventeenth Century (1). It diverged from medieval mysticism and sought to critique existing institutions and assumptions using logic. Whereas prior political theories were argued in terms of divine command, with ruler’s legitimacy often rooted in their imagined lineage from Adam and Eve, Hobbes redefined political discourse forever by being the first political philosopher since classical times to root his argument in rationally arguable terms (2).
Hobbes begins his Magna Opus with an operational definition of humanity: “…in the first place, I put for a general inclination of all mankind, a perpetual and restless desire of power after power, that ceaseth only in death.” (3) He defined mankind as being entirely egocentric, guided by preset “appetites” and “aversions.” This view of human nature left no room for ethics, as people’s drive towards pleasure was wholly self-interested. Thus, in the absence of law and order, people would be forced into a war of all against all.
Hobbes defined this perpetual chaos as the “State of Nature”, and gave it this description: “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” (3)
Without a centralized authority, the State of Nature was inevitable for two primary reasons: first, that people would be forced into competition with one another over resources, and second, the fear that perceived competitors would resort to violence as a means of securing these resources. The fear of being acted against violently would force people to respond violently themselves, creating a self-fulfilling process in which all people killed for fear of being killed. (3)
Hobbes articulates a solution to this situation in his second natural law: “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.” (2)
Essentially, Hobbes is creates in this law a framework for his social contract, in which people relinquish the freedom to harm others with the understanding that all others will do the same. Of course, all contracts need an enforcer, and, Hobbes argues, the only reliable way to ensure the stability of this new covenant is to cede all freedoms to one individual, to give him one’s absolute obedience in all cases short of his direct threat to one’s life. (3)
With an understanding of Hobbes’s State of Nature, this makes sense. If an individual’s will is inherently at odds with all other’s, and the freedom of all individuals to exercise their will leads to a war of all against all, then it is only reasonable to expect that any division of power will degenerate into civil war. And the depravity of State of Nature conditions is such that it will always be in one’s own self interest to choose peace, even at the expense of freedom.
Citations
1. McCormick, Matt. “Immanuel Kant”. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy . 8/11/2010 .
2. Williams, Garrath. “Hobbes: Moral and Political Philosophy”. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy . 8/11/2010 .
3. Uzgalis, Bill. “The Leviathan”. Oregon State University. 8/11/2010 .
