Hobbes Argument For A Nasty State Of Nature Philosophy Essay

Hobbes Argument For A Nasty State Of Nature Philosophy Essay In the Leviathan, Hobbes argues for a solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short State of Nature, characterized by a world of perpetual war among men, with no place for justice, law or private property, supported by hierarchies of subordination. The solution for this state, as argued by Hobbes, is the creation of a social contract founded on fear and the surrender of personal rights, including freedom, to a supreme sovereign. In contrast, John Locke argues for a State of Nature characterized by peace, benevolence and mutual help, which includes the notion of private property and is rooted in two natural dispositions: the right to do whatever one pleases within the boundaries of the Natural Law and the right to defend oneself from the offenses of third parties. However, the State of Nature is bound to fall since there is no universality among men to act within the Natural Law, crossing its boundaries. Also, being a judge of its own causes, one can favor ones loved and try to harm ones e nemies. Hence, an institution for the regulation of liberty and own-legislation is needed in order to secure everyones rights, and more importantly everyones private property. According to Hobbes, the differences between men are so minimal that even if some men are greater in strength or intellect, in the end the whole collectivity appears to be homogenously equal. Hence, for Hobbes (as well for Locke) the state of nature starts with a presupposed state of equality among men given by nature (in contrast with the state of equality given by God as argued by Locke). However, men naturally tend to favor power over the others, which force them to engage in conflict and war. Hobbes distinguishes three different causes for the beginning of this conflict: competence, glory and distrust. Competence engages men in a circular fight for power over another, glory gives men the need for reputation, and distrust enables personal security. As it is evident, it is impossible for men to live peacefully without a power of fear that would keep both parties in order. For Hobbes, these circumstances create a state of bellum omnia omnes which makes impossible any progress or mut ual relationship. Nevertheless, Hobbes clearly acknowledges that there has never been a time when everybody is engaged in war with everybody, instead he argues that there has been periods in history full of conflicts and distrust that drags people apart in hostile relationships. In this state of war or conflict, where everybody is trying to gain others property and power, there is no place for justice since justice is not consistent with personal reason but with mutual agreement. The notion of law and justice are absent in Hobbes State of Nature. In order to overcome this unproductive state, Hobbes suggests that there are two different ways: passions and reason. The supreme passion is the fear of death, followed by other passions such as the desire for a comfortable life without conflicts and the hope for gaining goods through labor. These passions are, however, ineffective since the state of war in which men live makes them realize that these goods they are seeking are worthless since there is no way to protect them from the greedy, hostile neighbors (not even their own life is secured in this state). This is the reason why Hobbes introduces the notion of Natural Laws: the First Law: To seek peace and follow it, dictates that every man must look for peace and when peace is unobtainable; he must find and use every advantage of war in order to preserve peace; the Second Law: By all means we can to defend ourselves, rooted in the Scriptures and derived from the First Law, argues that every man must give the others what he asks for, one must give up on its own rights as long as they represent danger to the common good; finally, the Third Law, derived from the Second, urges men to satisfy every contract in which they are engaged in order to prevent conflicts. Hobbes Laws of Nature make evident that there is a possible exit from the state of war since every man is considered equal and holds the same rights under the law (in contrast with Locke, who places these conditions as components of the State of Nature rather than as a possible exit from the state of war). All this circumstances, but most importantly, the coercive fear of the state of war, forces men to engage in a kind of social contract which implicates an absolute trespassing of ones rights, including a total surrender of personal liberty (in contrast with Lockes civil society which is born to safeguard personal liberty), to a sovereign person or institution of people hoping in exchange for a state of order and security to seek, create and maintain peace. Hobbes adds that this sovereign person or institution of people must have the power to exercise fear upon every member of the contract in order to keep them within the boundaries, giving birth to the notion of the Leviathan and a clear support for the monarchic system (in contrast with Lockes criticism against the Monarchy). According to Locke, the idea of the State of Nature is given in order to understand the notion of political power. For Locke, men are naturally in a state of perfect freedom, where they are able to decide over his actions, property and will. However, in contrast with Hobbes definition of liberty (the absence of external impediments), liberty is not completely free of boundaries or external impediments, men are tied to the boundaries of the law of nature when exercising their right of liberty. As Locke would say, This be a state of liberty, yet it is not a state of license. Men are also in a state of equality, given by God through the distinction that no man is greater than the others, preventing any type of hierarchies or subordination (as Locke would argue when discussing the notion of slavery or conquest or through his criticism against the monarchic system). In contrast with Locke, Hobbes argues that even if there is a state of homogeneous equality, it is this state which gives me n the possibility to invade others property and life (This is indirectly a claim for the Monarchy, which gives a man a higher status in order to act upon everybody else, allegedly seeking for order and peace). Due to these circumstances, everyone must look for his own preservation (or life) and for the preservation of all men. Rooted in the idea of self-preservation is Lockes notion of punishment and self-defense are components of the State of Nature. In the State of Nature everyone is free to ask for reparation and restraint, creating the concept of punishment as a way of self-execution of the Law. Punishment, as argued by Locke, must be proportional to the offense, from point where one is able to appropriate the goods or services of the offender, by right of self-preservation to the point where one is not only able but forced to punish the crime by murdering the offender by the right he has of preserving all mankind. As it has been said, Lockes State of Nature appoints man as a free self-legislator within the Natural Law. However, this State, just as Hobbes state of perpetual war, is bound to result unproductive collectively. First, since there is no particular agreement among all mankind to act within the boundaries of the Natural Law, transgressions are likely to happen re-creating a Hobbean state of war between the transgressor and the others. Second, the fact that one is self-legislator of the Law of Nature might cause biased decisions to favor one (self-love) or ones friends over ones enemies. Locke argues that in order to prevent this scenarios God creates the institution of the Civil Society governed by a civil government. This point is a direct criticism to Hobbes support to the monarchy where Locke argues that the system is just a recreation of the second scenario. For Locke it is inconceivable that mankind must surrender its liberty to a sovereign, since everybody is equal by birth and law. As Locke says, How much better it is than the state of nature, where one man, (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) has the liberty to be judge in his own case and may do to all its subjects whatever he pleases, without the least liberty to anyone to question or control those who execute his pleasure? This is where the need for society is born. Society, as argued by Locke, is born to amend the difficulties of the State of Nature where a man is judge of his own case and there is no regulation of liberty in order not to become license. This regulation, however, does not equal with the surrender of liberty requested by Hobbes to end with the state of war. For Locke, the civil government is born to preserve liberty (with liberty comes private property, even in the State of Nature) in its pure form, while for Hobbes liberty is taken away in order to preserve peace. While for Hobbes men are naturally in a state of war, for Locke the state of war appears when one transgresses other peoples private property. While Locke includes private property as inherent to liberty (hence, as component of the state of nature) and argues for the preservation of private property through the social contract (which might be tacit or consent as both philosophers acknowledge), for Hobbes the notion of private property is only imaginable when men have abandoned the state of nature. While for Hobbes there is no certain reliance on theological terms, Locke appears to claim for Heaven where there is no explanation to back up his concepts. While for Hobbes there cannot be morality (hence no justice) in the State of Nature, for Locke morality is given by the Law of Nature. While Lockes State of Nature argues for the revolution against the monarchy (since it represents the State of Nature), Hobbes insists that the only way to escape from the State of Nature is monarchy. While both arguments are convincing, Lockes State of Nature is more plausible. First, Locke acknowledges the existence and preservation of liberty upon everything else. Without liberty, even if liberty must be constrained by the Natural Law or reason, there cannot be a social contract, since as Hobbes says; a contract made by coercion is void. Second, in reality, the nature of man is not to cause conflict, there is no perpetual struggle among everybody everywhere as Hobbes says. Hobbes state of nature fails to explain the existence of love, good will, charity, solidarity, and other values that we witness every day. Also Hobbes fails to recognize the influence of rearing and culture as factors which might shape the natural state of man. Finally, Locke makes clear that even when most people may act within the boundaries of the Natural Law while in the State of Nature, there are possibilities that an aggressor might be found. In contrast, Hobbes attaches an absolute value to the nature of man implying that it is always good or bad. (1885 WORDS)

American History :: essays research papers fc

â€Å"The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One’s right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.† — Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference into public affairs. Freedom of expression consists of the rights to freedom of speech, press, assembly and to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and the implied rights of association and belief. The Court has interpreted the First Amendment to apply to the entire federal government even though it’s only supposed to be applied to the Congress. The First Amendment was written because at America's beginning, citizens ordered to have a guarantee of their basic freedoms. Without the First Amendment, religious minorities could be persecuted, the government might well establish a national religion, protesters could be silenced, the press could not criticize government, and citizens couldn’t assemble for social change. Most people believe in the right to free speech, but debate whether it should cover flag-burning, hard-core rap and heavy-metal lyrics, tobacco advertising, hate speech, pornography, nude dancing, solicitation and various forms of symbolic speech; though many would agree to limiting some forms of free expression. A Phrase that is often used to describe expression that is combined with elements of conduct is â€Å"Symbolic Expression†. The Supreme Court has dealt with a series of cases and has made it clear that symbolic expression or expressive conduct may be protected by the First Amendment. There have been a plethora of cases on this issue and they have been extremely controversial. One remarkable one was Texas vs. Johnson in 1984 during a Republican National Convention; it was about a man who expressed his displeasure with the United States by burning an American Flag. This action of his took Gregory Johnson to court and the court came to a conclusion that burning the flag was â€Å"speech† and again determined that Johnson was only trying to send out a message through his perspective by the burning the flag.

Analysis of a Pepsi Advertisement

Pepsi attempts to relate to their target audience by appealing to the sentimental side in all of us. In their ad they target the desires and beliefs and values of every American child and the child within all of us by using the symbolic images of the Christmas season and the magic that season brings with it. In this advertisement for Pepsi, a Teddy Bear is seen hanging on a string of lights on a Christmas tree with one hand while with the other he is reaching for the open Pepsi with a candy cane. This advertisement for Pepsi is trying to evoke emotions and to link those emotions to their product. One look at this ad and immediately the â€Å"awww†¦. † Factor is engaged. They do a very good job linking their product to a magical season and the special emotions associated with this season that brings out the child in all of us. When you look at the ad even closer you see the warm crackling fire in the background, bringing about the warm feelings of hearth and home and the nostalgic feelings associated with these subtle but powerful images. By using the Christmas season in their ad they get you to transfer the feelings that this magical season brings out in all of us to their product. They want you to believe that their product is so magical, so desirable and a good representation of a family oriented product by using the images of hearth and home at the most magical time of year. They link to the desires and feeling of what the average family oriented American wants or should want (if you are to believe the advertising industry) by using these powerful images. They want you to transfer the nostalgic feeling of family, hearth and home to their product. They go even further with the use of another powerful childhood image and an icon in American culture, the Teddy Bear, to relate to the inner child in all of us. The Teddy bear is seen in the ad reaching for what he most desires, the candy cane by using the tools that are readily at his disposal, in this case, a candy cane, (another powerful symbol of the season) to reach what he wants so bad.

Essay about Cancer in United States - 549 Words

Cancer in United States Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. There are a lot of different kinds of cancer. Here are the most common cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, head and neck cancer, leukemia, lung cancer, melanoma, non-hodgkins lymphoma, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, and rectal cancer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A lot of cancers exist, but they all have some common characteristics. Cancer cells can reproduce much faster than normal cells. Each cell has a specific job to do. Red blood cells transport oxygen. Kidney cells help get rid of body waste. Bone cells provide firm support. Cancer cells cluster†¦show more content†¦The body starts to make too many white blood cells and too few of red blood cells. The white blood cells do not mature properly. As a result, the immune system does not function properly and infections occur easily. Abnormal white cells become crowded in the bone marrow, leaving no room for red blood cells and platelets to grow. The loss of red blood cells and platelets has serious affects on the body like anemia wherein a person feels week and tired. These white blood cells spread to the brain, heart, lungs, and other organs. The cancer cells interfere with the functions with these organs. As the cancer cells travel from one organ to the other the cancer has spread and we call that metastasized. The more places cancer cells go, the more damage they can do, and the more difficult the cancer is to treat. The following are the most common warning signs of cancer. Sores that dont heal, changes in a mole or wart, new lump and bumps, coughing or hoarseness that does not go away, unusual bleeding, such as blood in the urine or stool, pain that doesnt go away, fever that doesnt go away, weakness, weight loss, or a tired feeling. When doctors discover a person has cancer, they determine its stage. 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