Thomas Hobbes Leviathan

Topic The discussion of the proper structure of society and government. The idea of a social contract, that man enters into society and, subsequently, accepts rule by a government in order to escape the fear and brutality of man’s state of nature-one of civil war.

Frontispiece Top is a giant holding a sword and a crosier, which is a staff of office. The giant’s head is its own, the body is made up of other faces. Bottom is a banner where images of earthly power are on the left, religious power on the right.

III. Giant controls both church and state, uniting them under one rule of the government, the Leviathan, which is huge and all powerful and is made up of all of the members of the state, the people themselves, who submit to the rule of the Leviathan

Man Hobbes begins his work with a discussion of man. Man, Hobbes claims, is by nature a savage being, one who is suspicious of others and does not easily or willingly trust others, having to fend for himself in order to survive.

i. This means that man will, when he encounters his fellow man, fight out of fear of what the other man may do to him or take from him.

B. Good and evil are different to each person according to what they want most. i. As such, when men meet each other-typically, they would live alone due to their selfishness, suspicion, and savagery-they would be in constant competition and fall into war.

“The war of all against all,” “In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain, and consequently, not culture of the earth, no navigation, nor use of commodities that may be imported by sea, no commodious building,..

no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force, no knowledge of the face of the earth, no account of time, no arts, no letters, no society, and which is worst of all, continual fear and danger of violent death, and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”

Commonwealth The “obvious” thing man should seek, then, says Hobbes, is peace, but in order to achieve peace man must be willing to give up some of his rights/“freedoms”

II. Types of commonwealth: Monarchy-best practically speaking because best interest of monarch also are those of the people Aristocracy Democracy III. Succession Determined by the sovereign/monarch

IV. Religion Should be instituted by the sovereign and is in the best interest of all to do so. Not to have religion, at least of some sort, is to invite discord and unease. Religion keeps man from his savage state of nature most effectively.

Christian Commonwealth Cannot be proven that what someone says is truly by divine revelation, so religious power and authority is under that of the state, the Leviathan.

“For if a man pretend to me that God hath spoken to him supernaturally, and immediately, and I make doubt of it, I cannot easily perceive what argument he can produce to oblige me to believe it.”

Kingdom of Darkness Darkness, not as hell but as ignorance Light, then, is the possession of true knowledge. Blames the church for misinterpreting Scripture, thus leading men astray and causing them not to trust and/or obey civil authority.

C. Also at fault is the use of images, relics, etc. D. Philosophers who cause people to question the authority of the government, such as Aristotle in the past, should be removed so as not to cause more trouble.

Conclusion Man needs to be controlled to avoid extinction due to civil war. The government, not religion, should be given ultimate authority and should be agreed upon by the people. The government is termed the Leviathan.