History of Criminological Thought
CRM 1301: History of Criminological Thought
Thomas hobbes
Thomas Hobbes: The State of nature and the Basis of Society * Thomas Hobbes ‘‘Leviathan’’ or The Matter, Form and Power of a Common-Wealth, Ecclesiastical and civil (1651)
Context of Hobbes study: * Conflict between monarch and parliament * Catholicism/Protestantism * War
Hobbes believed that the civil peace was a very fragile thing, and that chaos could and did break through the veneer of civilization. Hobbes wanted to scientifically (through reasoning or reckoning using a method purged from ambiguity) study human relations.
Conditions: What is the State of nature?
A fictitious scenario where all are equal in mind and body (Differences exist but are not significant). Virtual equality brings hope that things can be done as everybody is equal both in means and capacity (HOPE).
PROBLEM:
There are two opposing desires in human nature:
This is the principal reason equality is not a good thing in a State of Nature as man is bound to clash. Laws of nature Laws of nature exist in a State of Nature. For Hobbes, true values were based on the need for self-preservation. Thus, he defined a law of nature as ‘‘a precept, or general rule, found out by reason, by which a man is forbidden to do ,that, which is destructive of his life, or taketh away the means of preserving the same; and to omit,that, by which he thinketh it may be best preserved. ‘’ (clash of interests +scarcity= problem) Existed before man. We can discover the laws of nature with reason (i.e. ability to think for ourselves). The laws are immutable and eternal. ‘‘That every man ought to endeavor to peace, as far as he has hope of obtaining it and when he cannot obtain it, that he may seek and use, all helps, and advantages of war.’’ The use of the word ought, it is a command or prescription. It is a statement of the rationality of people. SECOND LAW OF NATURE: Push for peace ‘’That a man be willing,
Thomas hobbes
Thomas Hobbes: The State of nature and the Basis of Society * Thomas Hobbes ‘‘Leviathan’’ or The Matter, Form and Power of a Common-Wealth, Ecclesiastical and civil (1651)
Context of Hobbes study: * Conflict between monarch and parliament * Catholicism/Protestantism * War
Hobbes believed that the civil peace was a very fragile thing, and that chaos could and did break through the veneer of civilization. Hobbes wanted to scientifically (through reasoning or reckoning using a method purged from ambiguity) study human relations.
Conditions: What is the State of nature?
A fictitious scenario where all are equal in mind and body (Differences exist but are not significant). Virtual equality brings hope that things can be done as everybody is equal both in means and capacity (HOPE).
PROBLEM:
There are two opposing desires in human nature:
This is the principal reason equality is not a good thing in a State of Nature as man is bound to clash. Laws of nature Laws of nature exist in a State of Nature. For Hobbes, true values were based on the need for self-preservation. Thus, he defined a law of nature as ‘‘a precept, or general rule, found out by reason, by which a man is forbidden to do ,that, which is destructive of his life, or taketh away the means of preserving the same; and to omit,that, by which he thinketh it may be best preserved. ‘’ (clash of interests +scarcity= problem) Existed before man. We can discover the laws of nature with reason (i.e. ability to think for ourselves). The laws are immutable and eternal. ‘‘That every man ought to endeavor to peace, as far as he has hope of obtaining it and when he cannot obtain it, that he may seek and use, all helps, and advantages of war.’’ The use of the word ought, it is a command or prescription. It is a statement of the rationality of people. SECOND LAW OF NATURE: Push for peace ‘’That a man be willing,