Human Nature Essay
The Evil Nature of Man: An Essay on Human Nature
People today enjoy the many pleasures life provides, including entertainment and technology, all the while living longer than ever before. This would not be possible, if it were not for a government that protects it’s citizens from danger and promotes peace. Humans are evil by nature, and therefore require some form of power in a society that will protect each person. This evil is described in a interview with a U.S. soldier who after returning from Iraq, found his evil nature to control his emotions toward Muslims, until he was able to join their group, an become a member of their society. Thomas Hobbes, an English Philosopher from the 17th century, wrote a book on the subjects of human nature and also its relation to government. In Leviathan, Hobbes states in Chapter XIII, “Nature hath made men so equal in the faculties of body and mind…” referring to the idea that every man is created equal (41). Hobbes goes on to say, “from this equality of ability ariseth equality of hope in the attaining of our ends” (41). While every man is created equal, they are also created with the wants and desires to attain their hopes, goals, and dreams, which can cause for conflict if two men wish for the same thing, yet cannot have it (41). This idea leads to Hobbes next point that “from this diffidence [shyness, almost fear] of one another, there is no way for any man to secure himself so reasonable as anticipation; that is, by force, or wiles, to master the persons of all men he can so long till he see no other power great enough to endanger him” (42). Hobbes talks of the inability of man to get have what he wants. As an equal in the society in which he exists, each man thinks he should be able to have whatever it is he wants, even when others also want the same. These men will battle for the object of interest, along with all others who desire said object, which eventually results in a war (42). This war only ends when one man
People today enjoy the many pleasures life provides, including entertainment and technology, all the while living longer than ever before. This would not be possible, if it were not for a government that protects it’s citizens from danger and promotes peace. Humans are evil by nature, and therefore require some form of power in a society that will protect each person. This evil is described in a interview with a U.S. soldier who after returning from Iraq, found his evil nature to control his emotions toward Muslims, until he was able to join their group, an become a member of their society. Thomas Hobbes, an English Philosopher from the 17th century, wrote a book on the subjects of human nature and also its relation to government. In Leviathan, Hobbes states in Chapter XIII, “Nature hath made men so equal in the faculties of body and mind…” referring to the idea that every man is created equal (41). Hobbes goes on to say, “from this equality of ability ariseth equality of hope in the attaining of our ends” (41). While every man is created equal, they are also created with the wants and desires to attain their hopes, goals, and dreams, which can cause for conflict if two men wish for the same thing, yet cannot have it (41). This idea leads to Hobbes next point that “from this diffidence [shyness, almost fear] of one another, there is no way for any man to secure himself so reasonable as anticipation; that is, by force, or wiles, to master the persons of all men he can so long till he see no other power great enough to endanger him” (42). Hobbes talks of the inability of man to get have what he wants. As an equal in the society in which he exists, each man thinks he should be able to have whatever it is he wants, even when others also want the same. These men will battle for the object of interest, along with all others who desire said object, which eventually results in a war (42). This war only ends when one man
Cited: “Devil in Me, The.” Ira Glass. This American Life. Chicago Public Radio. 7 Sept. 2007. Hobbes, Thomas. “Excerpts from Leviathan.” Enduring Questions for an Intercultural World. Ed. Barbara Rolleston. Berea, OH: Baldwin-Wallace College, 2006. 40-47 Locke, John. “’Of the State of Nature’ from Two Treatises of Government.” Enduring Questions for an Intercultural World. Ed. Barbara Rolleston. Berea, OH: Baldwin-Wallace College, 2006. 48-52. Lustwig, Myron W. and Koester, Jolene. Intercultural Competence: Interpersonal Communication across Cultures. 5th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2006.