hobbes nugget

·      Hobbes was an English philosopher and theorist famous for his Leviathan.

definitely a delby boy

·      Hobbes defined the natural condition of man as the merciless enemy of his peers. Thus, he believed, there was no point in working hard or developing one’s self or society as other men could and would rob you of the fruits of your labors.

"The condition of man is a condition of warre of everyone against everyone”

·      He was kind of like a Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God/predestination type, as exhibited by this portion of his extreme run on sentence, “worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death, and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short….”. He presented the natural fact that everyone was damned and then presented a solution.

when he realized that life is terrible

•      Hobbes believed that man’s fear of death and desire to live comfortably incline him to peace, and that man’s reason suggest that he draw a peaceful agreement with others. (reasonable, right?) However, this peace cannot be achieved because man is naturally always at everyone else’s throats. (so man's nature overpowered his passion and reason)
• o   There was absolutely no hope because the rights of man even stated that men are entitled to each other’s lives.

·      The only solution to this damned position was the establishment of an absolute monarchy, a man or assembly of men to whom everyone ceded all of their rights.

everything's going to be all right !!!!

o   The purpose of this common power was so that people weren’t just living as loners worrying about who would try to kill them next. This common power created a community and defense against the injuries brought on by foreigners and each other.

o   The establishment of this common power, known as absolutism, exploits man’s fear of death and desire for a comfortable life by guaranteeing these two wants and promising that there will be a price to pay if the line is crossed (and these tenets of absolutism are threatened).

§  This power also promises men that their work will be worth something, the fruits of their labor protected.

finally!!

·      Essentially, the people make up the leader because they have concentrated all of their voices, wills, judgments, and freedoms in him.
o   Hence the title,  Leviathan—very large and powerful sea creature that is the absolute monarch.

"I Authorize and give up my Right of Governing myself to this Man, or to this Assembly of men, on this condition, that thou give up thy Right to him, and Authorize all his Actions in like manner."