HOBBES’ LEVIAT

HAN

OUTLINEAdminAristotle

Critically discuss some of his ideas and argumentsHobbes

ContextSocial Contract TheoryLeviathan

ADMINAll readings, announcements, lecture notes and slides will be uploaded onto:

scholtzphilosophy.wordpress.comReading: Hobbes Leviathan, Book 1, Ch 14-16, Book 2, Ch 17-19 (skim through 18)

If you missed your tutorial this week, see a tutor during their consultation times:Likhwa (and Asheel): Tuesdays: 10:00-11:15; 15:30-16:15Patience: Wednesdays 12:10-13:50Schalk: Mondays 11:40-13:20Wesley: Tuesdays 12:10-13:50

Next week’s tutorial assignment is due Thursday 19 February before 12:00 at the Philosophy department. Please put your tutor’s name on your assignment.

Term test:Short questions: Explain a quote; Give a brief argumentEssay: Give a critical evaluation of a philosopher’s view.We’ll discuss venue, scope and questions in more detail next week.

TERM ESSAY5 March before 12:00 at the Philosophy department. Sign a

register when you submit.Late assignments will be penalised!1500 word limit (1300 minimum)Five options to choose from, one on each component of the

module.Use a minimum of four academic sources.Make sure you reference your work properly and use your own

words – plagiarism is a big deal!Format: Typed, 12-point font, 1.5 line spacing, justified

margins.Start working on it now! Chat to your tutor, come see me

during my consultation times, make an appointment at the writing centre.

ARISTOTLE

: CRITIC

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EVALUATI

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WHAT DO YOU THINK?1. Citizens should be involved in the processes of rational

deliberation pertaining to the running of the state.To what extent, if at all, can this be done in a contemporary liberal democracy?

2. The state is an essentially moral entity – it is responsible for ensuring its citizens develop good moral character.Should the state be based on what our human nature is, regardless of whether Aristotle was right about our function as rational animals?

ARGUMENTS (1)Aristotle’s argument for the expediency (i.e. the good

necessity) of the state hangs on his metaphysical conception of humans as possessing a final cause (a natural aim or purpose).The purpose of humans is to practice reason in order to achieve the good life.The good life can only be attained in its fullest degree within the state.Therefore the state is necessary to realise the purpose of humans.

1. P → Q2. Q → R3. Therefore P → R4. P5. Therefore QIs the state responsible for our moral flourishing?

ARGUMENTS (2)Aristotle argues for the legitimacy of natural slavery based on his

conception of rational ability.1. The superior must rule the inferior despotically.2. The inferior is s/he who has a lower rational capacity (the converse is true for the superior).3. The slave has an inferior rational capacity to the master.4. Therefore, the slave is inferior to the master. (2, 3)5. Therefore, the master must rule the slave despotically. (1, 4)

Is full rationality the only necessary characteristic of a leader?Is premise 1 true, or is there some higher value on which we

should base rulership?Is Aristotle not on to something here?

THOMAS HOBBES

THOMAS HOBBESThomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was an English philosopher, most influential for his

work in political philosophy, especially his Leviathan (1651).The English Civil War started in 1642, an armed conflict between Royalists and

Parliamentarians. As the Royalists steadily lost influence and power, many of the Royalist supporters fled to Paris, France.

Hobbes had moved to Paris two years prior to the outbreak of the war. After the publication of Leviathan, Hobbes was opposed both by English Royalists in Paris (for his secularism) and Parliamentarians back in Britain (for his advocacy of a absolute monarchy).

Leviathan, mentioned in Job 41:“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a

cord?...Lay your hands on him; remember the battle – you will not do it again!”

“His heart is hard as a stone, hard as the lower millstone…On earth there is not his like, a creature without fear. He sees everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride.”

READING HOBBESWhen reading Hobbes, pay careful attention to what each

chapter is doing, and each paragraph within the chapter.He defines his terms as he goes along, and after defining them

starts drawing conclusions.This makes him in one sense very easy to read, since you

always know what he’s speaking about when he uses abstract terms like “freedom” and “right”.

However, this can also make him tricky to read because you need to have a keen eye on exactly where Hobbes is in his argument.

Book 1, Chapter 16, Hobbes begins with three definitions, and then a statement on the political drive of humans based on their pre-political situation…

STATE OF NATURE AND THE SOCIAL CONTRACTHobbes was the father of “social contract theory” in political

philosophy.Social contract theorists regard the state as an essentially

legal entity, arising from a contractual agreement between people to live together.

Before the social contract people live in a “state of nature”, which might have certain benefits but many drawbacks.

Other social contract philosophers include John Locke (1632-1704) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), and more recent philosophers like John Rawls (1921-2002).

How would life be before or without the polis? What would it be like living in a complete state of nature?

LEVIATHAN BOOK 1, CH 14Right of Nature: The natural abilities we have to do whatever we need to preserve our

lives, “in his own judgment and reason”. We use reason to decide what we want to do, and our natural abilities to carry out our decisions. The primary aim of this right is “the preservation of [a human’s] own nature”, that is, protecting and extending one’s life.

Liberty: Hobbes has a “negative” conception of liberty as that which you are allowed to do without being hindered by something beyond ourselves. This conception in contrast to a “positive” account of liberty as the right to something, for example healthcare or education.

***You can use your Right of Nature to take away another person’s Liberty.***Law of Nature: A rule that we figure out by using reason that “a man is forbidden to do

that which is destructive of his life” or give up something that would protect/extend his life.Right (jus) vs. Law (lex): A right is the freedom to do something (you can do it if you want to). A law is an obligation to do something (you have to do it whether you want to or not, you are “bound” to do it).

State of Nature: In an earlier chapter, Hobbes argues that before humans associate into a state, people are in a constant state of war, in which the lives of people are “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”. Each person acts according to their own reason, which determines the laws or principles each person lives by. There is no private property – everyone has a right to everything, even each others’ bodies! This is a state of constant anxiety and insecurity.

LEVIATHAN BOOK 1, CH 14State of Nature: From a state of nature (which is a state of

perpetual war) arise two fundamental laws: to seek peace and to use any means to defend oneself.

These fundamental laws are so strong that people will follow them even if it means they must sacrifice other rights.NB: Follow a lex (an obligation) to the extent of relinquishing jus (freedom).

To seek peace and leave the state of nature is a precise step-by-step exercise.