Thursday, November 7, 2019
Free Essays on Power In Hobbes Leviathan
, peace would arise only out of our ââ¬Ënaturalââ¬â¢ tendency to do the action most advantageous to ourselves. The most advantageous action, however, might be war, in which case there would be no peace (Chapter XIV, paragraph 1). This concept is known as egois! m, and it is the opposite of altruism. This seems like somewhat of a paradox or a breakdown in Hobbeââ¬â¢s theory, since war would definitely be hazardous to oneââ¬â¢s health, and yet it is supposedly our natural condition. Hobbes describes his view of human nature as ââ¬Å"â⬠¦a perpetual and restless desire of power after power, that ceaseth only in deathâ⬠(Chapter XI, paragraph 2). When analyzing why Hobbes believes that man constantly wants an ever increasing amount of power,... Free Essays on Power In Hobbe's Leviathan Free Essays on Power In Hobbe's Leviathan An analysis of power in Hobbesââ¬â¢ Leviathan In Leviathan, one of the main themes that Hobbes discusses is the pursuit of power. It is this pursuit of power that makes people do the things that they do, according to Hobbes. Hobbes writes about the reasons why we crave power, how we do it, and the only way he sees to control it. In a few of his arguments there seem to be paradoxes in his philosophy. It is the purpose of this paper to briefly explore these ideas. We will be analyzing two different aspects of power which Hobbes discussed: the search for power by all human beings (he refers to them as ââ¬Å"menâ⬠; important?) and the power held by the government, which Hobbes called the Sovereign. According to Hobbes, it is the natural tendency of humans to provide for oneself above all others and to not do anything, ââ¬Å"â⬠¦that is destructive of his life or taketh away the means of preserving the sameâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ (Chapter XIV, paragraph 3). He also writes that war is the natural condition of humans. ââ¬Å"The passions that incline men to peace are fear of death, desire of such things as are necessary to commodious living, and a hope by their industry to obtain themâ⬠(Chapter XIII, paragraph 14). In other words, peace would arise only out of our ââ¬Ënaturalââ¬â¢ tendency to do the action most advantageous to ourselves. The most advantageous action, however, might be war, in which case there would be no peace (Chap ter XIV, paragraph 1). This concept is known as egois! m, and it is the opposite of altruism. This seems like somewhat of a paradox or a breakdown in Hobbeââ¬â¢s theory, since war would definitely be hazardous to oneââ¬â¢s health, and yet it is supposedly our natural condition. Hobbes describes his view of human nature as ââ¬Å"â⬠¦a perpetual and restless desire of power after power, that ceaseth only in deathâ⬠(Chapter XI, paragraph 2). When analyzing why Hobbes believes that man constantly wants an ever increasing amount of power,...
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