Preview

Similarities Between Hobbes And John Locke

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
214 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Similarities Between Hobbes And John Locke
Lexie Sviridov

There is a great number of similarities and differences between John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. They are both very important.
They both have the idea of a natural government of mankind which is very similar. They believe in social contract which is when you do actions that will affect you and you will accept the consequences. Hobbes believes that the government protects us from ourselves. While Locke believes the government protects natural rights. They have different beliefs on why they have the government. Hobbes believes that sovereignty resides to the monarch, or the kings. Locke believes that sovereignty resides to the people or the community. Sovereignty is where the power is holded. Hobbes believes that the government’s

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    After analyzing how Locke and Hobbes understand the state of nature it is evident that they share many ideas but they also show essential differences in their ideas. Hobbes regards the state of nature as a state of war, in which natural law is established only after a process of reasoning. This process leads men to the conclusion that they must somehow find…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies: Hobbes vs. Locke In the novel, Lord of The Flies by William Golding, several young boys are stranded on an island and must maintain civilization on their own with no real authority. Their attempt at maintaining a peaceful and civilized state between each other can help to explain the theories of philosophy stated by Jack Hobbes and John Locke. In Locke’s philosophy, he states that people are naturally good. He believes that is in our nature, as humans, to be good people and do what it is that we know is right and what we are told is right.…

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Locke Vs Hobbes

    • 184 Words
    • 1 Page

    Throughout history, people have debated about what government is, and what is the purpose of it. Should the government dictate people's lives and tell them what to do? Should the government be permissive and just allow the people take care of themselves and not step in? Should there be an in between? Two very influential philosophers from the 17th century Enlightenment, John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, are preeminent influences on how people see what a government is and what role it should take. They both were renowned influences in many governments, even to this day. Locke took the side that people are naturally good, and that they should rule themselves. While on the other hand, Hobbes said that humans are naturally brutish and evil,…

    • 184 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    For Hobbes, the need of an outright power, as a Sovereign, took after from the utter ruthlessness of the State of Nature. The State of Nature was totally grievous, thus objective men would will to submit themselves even to outright power with a specific end goal to escape it. For John Locke, 1632-1704, the State of Nature is an altogether different sort of spot, thus his contention concerning the social contract and the way of men's relationship to power are subsequently entirely distinctive. While Locke uses Hobbes' methodological gadget of the State of Nature, as do for all intents and purposes all social contract scholars, he utilizes it to a very distinctive end. Locke's contentions for the social contract, and for the privilege of residents…

    • 152 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hobbes vs Locke

    • 1466 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Both Hobbes and Locke shared similarities within their political theories; however their theories also had some major differences. Both men were responding to the crisis of the 17th century and they were highly influenced by the scientific revolution. Hobbes and Locke rejected all previous theories regarding human nature. They used the same methodology, and the men accepted an atomistic view of society. They believed that individuals were rational and were motivated by self-interest. Hobbes and Locke traced their theories from a state of nature to the social contract. They agreed that the legitimacy of the government rested on the consent of the governed. Together, both men rejected legitimate political authorities such as Divine Right of Kings, brute force, historical tradition, and feudal contracts. Both political philosophers offered interesting arguments pertaining to government, human nature, and the state of nature.…

    • 1466 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the start of the Scientific Revolution, people started thinking differently. Scholars and philosophers began to rethink their views about the old society and the way of living. Aspects of government, religion, economics and education were criticized. Two political thinkers, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke both experienced political hardships throughout their times, however they both came to two totally different conclusions on how future government should be ran.…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hobbes' view of the state of nature and Locke's view of the state of nature offer remarkable differences. Hobbes believed people act on their own self-interest, and they would go to any extreme to help themselves. He believed we are always in competition with each other for the best food, shelter, money, and so on. Hobbes believed the best way to protect citizens would be to have a sovereign that is intimidating and all-powerful.…

    • 841 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and John Locke (1632-1704) greatly disagreed on many key issues of their day; issues such as human nature, political authority, and the right of people to rebel. Hobbes studied before the Enlightenment, whereas that influenced John Locke's views immensely. Hobbes's ideas are also derived from his pessimistic view of human nature. He viewed people as selfish and greedy. To the contrary, Locke viewed people as good and intelligent.…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One more major difference is the view on a monarchy. Hobbes that one man should rule over all. He thought it would be best to have one man in total control of everything that people do. He wanted to make sure that the people have no say really in anything but, Locke didn’t like that idea of total power given to…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Locke Vs Hobbes Essay

    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The battle between Hobbes and Locke still continues today through their influence on governments and how they believed government should work. Hobbes believed in an absolute monarch where they were to demand obedience in order to maintain order. On the other hand, John Locke thought that a Democracy was a better form of government provided that they had the right information to make. This form of government allows the people to keep their natural rights rather than giving them up in exchange for protection by the monarch. As a result of their views on human nature and what form government should take, it is easy to see why Lockean government is more powerful than Hobbesian by looking at past governments in history as well as logically.…

    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Locke and Thomas Hobbes were two main political philosophers during the seventeenth century. Hobbes is largely known for his writing of the “Leviathan”, and Locke for authoring "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding." Included in their essays, both men discuss the purpose and structure of government, natural law, and the characteristics of man in and out of the state of nature. The two men's opinion of man vary widely. Hobbes sees man as being evil, whereas Locke views man in a much more optimistic light. While in the state of nature and under natural law, they both agree that man is equal. However, their ideas of natural law differ greatly. Hobbes positions himself with the view that the state of nature is a state of war where every man is for himself and loyalty to another being will only bring dismay. Contrastingly, Locke sees natural law and the state of nature as a place of equality and freedom for all. Locke therefore believes that government is necessary in order to preserve natural law, and on the contrary, Hobbes sees government as necessary in order to control natural law.…

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Human nature is reliable, as everyone is born with the same perspective. It is how we are raised and what we are exposed ot that causes us to speak and act the way that we do. Because of this people who are exposed to and raised in similar environments will act similar. This can be seen through Niccolò Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes; they were both raised in times of chaos and destruction, making them believe that an absolute ruler is necessary to maintaining peace. Both philosophers believe that humans are generally self-interested, and the natural state of humans is chaos and should be avoided at all costs. People are only prosperous when they are selfish and deceitful. Since Machiavelli and Hobbes both grew up in political turmoil, they derived similar beliefs about the malevolent qualities of human nature.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Locke Vs Hobbes

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were two of the greatest political and philosophical thinkers of their time and ours. Ideas like these have shaped governments throughout history and still hold true today. They had extremely different views on government, but the bases of their arguments were similar. They used reason to justify their ideas, rather than divine right. Although both men acknowledged that there was a God, He played a very small part in their ideologies. The philosophers each had an impact on the world. John Locke’s ideas influenced the United States Declaration of Independence, Federalist papers, and the Constitution. Thomas Hobbes’s ideas refuted England’s parliament. Hobbes and Locke agreed that some type of ruler would be necessary,…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Looking how each of these philosophers looked at a social contract, both Hobbes and Locke had different views on a social contract then we believe it to be. Social contract is how people decide to have a government and talks about how much authority can the government have over the people. Some similarities are to prevent violence against fellow citizens. For Tomas Hobbes, this means curbing the natural state of chaos. For John Locke, this means preventing any and all violations of individual rights. Both Hobbes and Lock base their theory on a harmonium naturalis, a natural state of humans. This is a situation where everyone is totally free because there is no interference of laws, but where man fears death every day. Hobbes called it a war…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Locke and Thomas Hobbes views on humanity differed greatly and it affected their views on government.…

    • 333 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays