Humans in the state of Nature
Humans in the State of Nature There are many theories about how humans used to be, before a state or any form of government was involved. Many imagine that we were in a State of Nature, which is where no political power exists, no laws or government. These theories were brought on to answer the questions, “Why do we need a state, and what would things be like without a state?” Many philosophers have given their views on what humans would be like in the state of nature. Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau offers us three different accounts of what life would be like in a state of nature.
Thomas Hobbes, who was an English philosopher, believed that human beings in general were selfish and always-in search for power to achieve their object of desires. So naturally Hobbes’s conception of the state of nature would be one that involves competition between people that are unrestrained, selfish and uncivilized. According to Hobbes, life in the state of nature is miserable, it is filled with war, and you have to always be on the look out and you can never let your guard down. For Hobbes, because everyone seeks power, this leads to competition and war. He offers three reasons why this happens which are scarcity, equality and uncertainty. In his state of nature there are scarce numbers of goods so people will desire the same thing, everyone possess the same level of skill and ability to kill, and everyone is in a state of fear and doesn’t want to be vulnerable to attack. With all these factors this leads to the source of the war being because of selfishness and fear, where people are fighting to gain power and defending their lives. In Hobbes’s state of nature everyone has The Natural Right of Liberty, which means that you have the right to defend yourself from harm however you see fit. Hobbes’s only account of achieving peace in the state of nature is through sovereign, where government needs unlimited authority
Thomas Hobbes, who was an English philosopher, believed that human beings in general were selfish and always-in search for power to achieve their object of desires. So naturally Hobbes’s conception of the state of nature would be one that involves competition between people that are unrestrained, selfish and uncivilized. According to Hobbes, life in the state of nature is miserable, it is filled with war, and you have to always be on the look out and you can never let your guard down. For Hobbes, because everyone seeks power, this leads to competition and war. He offers three reasons why this happens which are scarcity, equality and uncertainty. In his state of nature there are scarce numbers of goods so people will desire the same thing, everyone possess the same level of skill and ability to kill, and everyone is in a state of fear and doesn’t want to be vulnerable to attack. With all these factors this leads to the source of the war being because of selfishness and fear, where people are fighting to gain power and defending their lives. In Hobbes’s state of nature everyone has The Natural Right of Liberty, which means that you have the right to defend yourself from harm however you see fit. Hobbes’s only account of achieving peace in the state of nature is through sovereign, where government needs unlimited authority