CVSP 203
September 26, 2016
Waddah Nasr
THOMAS HOBBES (1588- 1679)
Moral and Political Philosophy
A. Hobbes’ Method of Inquiry: The “Geometrical Method”. (1) Start with axioms.
(An axiom is a proposition which we assume to be true, or whose truth is considered
to be self-evident). (2) Derive from the axioms further propositions that logically
follow from the axioms. In an ‘axiomatic system’ each proposition is either an axiom
or is validly derivable from the axioms.
Compare Hobbes’ “Method of the Geometrician” with Descartes’ Deductive Ideal of
Knowledge.
B. Major Features of Hobbes’s Political Philosophy:
I.
Hobbes’s axioms:
1. View of human nature:
a) Appetites and passions. Psychological Egoism: All voluntary human
actions are selfishly motivated.
b) Reason. Man is partly rational. “Rational” in the sense of being capable
of determining the means that are most effective for attaining one’s ends.
2. The equalizing factor. “Nature hath made men so equal, in the faculties of the
body, and mind…” Leviathan, Ch. 13, Section 1 (p. 13).
3. Men, for the most part, live under conditions of relative scarcity.
Remark on the meaning of being human. The importance of distinguishing between,
on the one hand, descriptive views about what sort of beings human beings are, and,
on the other hand, normative views on what it means to be human. Compare and
contrast Hobbes, Locke, and Kant.
II.
The State of Nature and Civil Society:
1. The state of nature. This state obtains when people live in the absence of
acknowledged laws and a credible authority to inforce them. Life in the state
of nature is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” Leviathan, Ch. 14,
Section 9 (p.14). Contrast with Locke.
Hobbes intended the state of nature as a hypothetical model for analysis.
Hobbes’s notion of “The rights of nature.” Ch. 14, Section 1 (p. 15).
2. How the transition to a civil society is achieved (or, the conditions that are
necessary for establishing and maintaining a civil society):
(a)The covenant. All agree to abandon the ‘rights of nature’.
(b)The assurance problem. How do I know that others will reciprocate?
(c)The sovereign. “Covenants without the sword are but words.”
3. Hobbes on Law. The distinction between positive law and natural law.
Positive laws are legislated by human beings. Natural laws are valid
independently from human will. Hobbes is a ‘Legal Positivist’: He acknowledges
only positive laws. Hobbes’ “laws of nature” are not to be confused with natural
laws. His “laws of nature” are “convenient articles of peace.” Leviathan, Ch. 14,
Section 13(p.15).
Hobbes’ legal positivism contrasts sharply with the position of Locke and the
Natural Law Tradition in general. (The example of the Nuremburg Trials: The
preamble to the laws on the basis of which the victorious Allies tried Nazi
“criminals of war” at the conclusion of the second World War, and convicted
them of the commission of “crimes against humanity” is clearly based on the
natural law tradition.)
4. Without the sovereign there can be no law, and the sovereign is not bound by
law. Hence in a state of nature, where there is no sovereign and therefore no
law, it follows that “the notions of right and wrong, justice and injustice have
no place.” Leviathan, Ch. 13, Section 13 (p 15)
5. Nations exist in a state of nature. Question: What does Hobbes mean by this
statement, and what are its implications for International Relations and the
notion of a ‘World Order’?
C. Controversial Aspects of Hobbes’s Political Philosophy:
1. Could we not have a civil society without giving the sovereign absolute
power? Could we not have freedom and order? Locke’s alternative: The rule
of Law not of men; devise a system of checks and balances; spread power
amongst the various ‘branches’ of government…
2. Is Psychological Egoism a truly defensible, scientific account of human
motivation? “For it is a voluntary act: and of the voluntary acts of man, the
object is some good to himself.” Leviathan, Ch. 14, Section 8 (p.16)
3. Is man social by necessity? “…Men have no pleasure, but on the contrary a
great deal of grief, in keeping company where there is no power able to overawe them all.” Leviathan Ch. 13, Section 5 (p.14)
4. On the nature of moral obligation:
Why ought I to do my duties? Because it pays, or as a matter of principle?
Prudence vs. Morality. Hobbes vs. Kant.
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If you have any questions on this lecture, I will be happy to discuss them with
you. [email protected]