Comparing John Locke and Thomas Hobbes
by Lillian Bonar
Essay: Comparing John Locke and Thomas Hobbes
Pages: 11
Rating: 3 stars
Download Links:
• Comparing John Locke and Thomas Hobbes.pdf
• Comparing John Locke and Thomas Hobbes.doc
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are two political philosophers who are famous for their theories about the
formation of the society and discussing man in his natural state.
Their theories are both psychologically insightful, but in nature, they are drastically different. Although they lived
in the same timeframe, their ideas were derived from different events happening during this time. Hobbes drew
his ideas on man from observation, during a time of civil strife in Europe during the 1640's and 1650's. Locke drew
his ideas from a time where Hobbes did not have the chance to observe the, glorious revolution. In uncivilized
times, in times before government, Hobbes asserted the existence of continual war with "every man, against every
man." On this point, Locke and Hobbes were not in agreement. Locke, consistent with his philosophy, viewed man
as naturally moral.
Many people have different views on the moral subject of good and evil or human nature. It is the contention of
this paper that humans are born neutral, and if we are raised to be good, we will mature into good human beings.
Once the element of evil is introduced into our minds, through socialization and the media, we then have the
potential to do bad things. As a person grows up, they are ideally taught to be good and to do good things, but it
is possible that the concept of evil can be presented to us. When this happens, we subconsciously choose whether
or not to accept this evil. This where the theories of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke become interesting as both
men differed in the way they believed human nature to be. Hobbes and Locke both picture a different scene when
they express human nature.
Even though they both believed that men naturally have to some extent equality and freedom, what makes their
concepts differ is the presence or absence of the natural law. In Hobbes' theory, men at their natural state are at
constant war, the war of all against all. Another Hobbes' belief is that most people are selfish and tend to do
everything for their own reason. To Hobbes humans are driven to maximize personal gains so in a world where
there are no rules humans are in constant fear of each other as they each try to get as much as they can, enough
is never enough. Men act in basically the same ways to get what we desire and if two men desire the same things
then they inevitably become enemies, no...
there are no rules humans are in constant fear of each other as they each try to get as much as they can, enough
is never enough. Men act in basically the same ways to get what we desire and if two men desire the same things
then they inevitably become enemies, no...