Hobbes - "Blogging Questions

61. Explain Hobbes's view of human nature as completely as you can. What was Hobbes's model of a human being? For Hobbes, how did human motivation work? Given this model of motivation, what kind of behaviors should we expect from unregulated human beings?

- Hobbes believed that human nature was based upon our needs, if we were cold, our reaction would be to warm ourselves up.. if we were hungry, our action would be to eat. Our entire nature is based up on pleasure and pain, we do things mainly to get rid of a physical discomfort we may have. Its almost as if we are motivated by our next meal or motivated to satisfy our next need. We are built that way. Our actions are almost "mechanical" in the way we go about things, so very predictable.

62. For Hobbes, how is human nature related to human behavior in the state of nature? Given his model of human nature and motivation, how would we expect human beings to behave if there is no sovereign authority regulating our actions?

- The first thing that came to my mind when I read this was, "Survival of the fittest." Hobbes' belief of "competition, defiance, and glory" seem to fit the bill. We are a self interested being, and we will do whatever is necessary to appease our desires. It would be one big "war."

63. For Hobbes, what is the fundamental justification for the founding of a commonwealth? What would people give up, and what would they gain in the founding of the commonwealth? What overriding reason would human beings have to hand over absolute power to a sovereign authority?

- Hobbes believes that people are unable to rely independently to secure "livelihood and contentment." Therefore, human beings form commonwealths. This enables them to better rely on each other using social contracts and etc. They would have to give up the idea of living in the state nature and govern over themselves freely. They would gain peace of mind. An overriding authority would be elected in order to maintain control and make sure social contracts were honored and not ignored. One problem with "absolute power" is that it absolutely corrupts, this elected official would succumb to the same pressures that any other human would fall to.

64. In Hobbes's model, who are the contracting parties in the social contract? Is the sovereign involved in the contract? Why or why not?

- The contracting parties in the social contract would be those individuals that want order. the sovereign is not involved in this contract. I think that one is elected just to be elected and they do not have absolute power.

65. Explain Hobbes's model of political legitimacy. For Hobbes, under what circumstances is a political authority legitimate? Under what circumstances is it not legitimate? Explain your views on Hobbes's reasoning in your answer.

- Hobbes believes that "political obligation ends when protection ceases. Also, Legitimacy doesn't depend on how a
a sovereign came to power, but rather on how well it can effectively protect those who obey it. I tend to agree with this answer because, what good is a government that cant protect its constituents. I think that the safety and protection of its constituents should be the main priority.


66. For Hobbes, should power be divided in a commonwealth? What does Hobbes think would happen if power was divided? Does Hobbes think this would be a good or a bad thing? Explain your answer.

- Hobbes view is that there should only be one ruler in the commonwealth. If power was divided, he thinks that the government would be rendered powerless if one branch of government contradicted the other. Therefore, it would be most efficient if there was one ruler. I dont think that this is a good idea because earlier, when we talked about only one person having power, it would maybe bring about corruption, its weird how he seems to ignore that with his reasoning for having one powerful leader.

67. For Hobbes, should power be limited in a commonwealth? What does Hobbes think would happen if the power of the sovereign was limited? Does Hobbes think this would be a good or a bad thing? Explain your answer.

- Hobbes believes that if power were limited it compromises the idea of a commonwealth. I guess the patriot act would fall under this question. We want our government to protect us from the dangers of the world. The government thinks that buy using the patriot act it can protect us more thoroughly, we believe the patriot act to be an invasion of privacy. In this way, Hobbes believes, that it just makes the job of the commonwealth much more difficult if power were limited.