Locke and Hobbes both had detailed accounts as to what the state of nature is. I will start with Hobbes and what he felt the state of nature is made up of. Hobbes believed in defining the state of nature as what it is instead of what it ought to be. So he focused in on the nature of people and came to a very descriptive conclusion as to how survive in this particular state of nature. He stated that man was equal in ambition‚ cruelty‚ and treachery‚ which in turn makes humans equal in the ability
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During the 17th century a debate that is still unresolved where John Locke argued that there is no such thing as innate ideas as we all come to have knowledge without having to posit innate ideas or innate principles. And what is meant by innate ideas is that concepts‚ knowledge or ideas that are not obtained by means of sense or past encounter but rather pre destined or preprogrammed into our minds when we are born into this world. This knowledge are within our sub consciousness and they come to
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THE HUMAN NATURE OF FREEDOM AND IDENTITY— WE HOLD MORE THAN RANDOM THOUGHTS DOUGLAS W. KMIEC* In contemplating the relation of freedom and identity‚ the Latin maxim libertas non datur sine veritate aptly reminds us that there can be no freedom without truth. While certain aspects of who we are‚ such as nationality or ethnic ancestry‚ may be cul‐ turally or serendipitously determined‚ there is a truth to hu‐ man nature which‚ if not observed‚ corrupts or
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Widely considered the father of the enlightenment‚ John Locke was a British doctor‚ politician‚ and philosopher who believed that people are naturally good and deserve the right to help govern themselves. He also strongly believed in the inalienable rights to life‚ liberty‚ and property- natural rights. This idea of natural rights and that of a direct constitutional democracy have served as a template for many countries’ government systems‚ including the founding documents of the United States
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fathers voice as they speak to them as an infant. Early learning as newborns to a year old is the foundation. John Locke believed that children are born with the ability to become anything or anyone they desire to become. They also have the ability to absorb anything being taught to them. I agree with Locke about the morals and values of a child. As the saying "garbage in‚ garbage out" implies Locke believed if a child watched and was taught immoral behavior they would follow the same pattern. Some children
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Comparing and Contrasting Thomas Hobbes and John Locke Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were two of the great political theorists of their time. They both provided wonderful philosophical texts on how our government should govern us. This paper will show the largest differences and some of the similarities between Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan and John Locke’s Second Treatise on Civil Government. Although they do have some similarities‚ Hobbes and Locke have different views on most of their political arguments
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Primary Source Document with Questions (DBQs) SELECTION FROM THE XUNZI: “HUMAN NATURE IS EVIL” Introduction Xunzi (Xun Qing‚ or Xun Kuang: c. 310-c. 219 BCE) lived at the very end of the Zhou dynasty. Like Mencius‚ he was an advocate and interpreter of the teachings of Confucius. Living a generation after Mencius‚ Xunzi lived through the final‚ brutal wars which ended with the state of Qin absorbing and unifying all the Chinese feudal states. Xunzi was a widely traveled scholar‚ teacher‚ and official
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Human Nature Good or Bad? Whether human beings are instinctually good or evil in an elementary natural state is a question that has been boggling the minds of even the greatest philosophers. There is a spectrum of theories that support both good and evil within the human race‚ each with valid points that explains the range of our interests‚ being either for ourselves or for others. However‚ my personal stance is the sensible theory of Altruism. Past experiences and observations allow me to
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In this paper I will contrast the five theories of human nature‚ and explain why I believe one to be more superior to the other four. To begin‚ the five theories of human nature are‚ rationality‚ divinity‚ man-machine‚ existentialism‚ and cultural. The first of the five theories is rationality‚ and simply states that one uses knowledge with the process of thought to draw a conclusion. If a dog’s bowl full of food in the morning‚ but later in the afternoon it has become empty. One could rationally
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Influences on Human Nature Human nature is the central characteristics‚ including the ways of thinking‚ acting‚ and reacting that are shared by most or all human beings‚ and which humans display naturally. Each one of us is a unique being and various facets of human nature determine our individual personalities. The question posed by personality theorists is‚ what factors influence the development of our personalities? Simply stated‚ how did we become who we are? Who we are is not determined by
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