Hello all, as the Hobbes reading is a bit dense, here are some documentaries to watch which will hopefully give you a greater understanding of the issues. Enjoy! Post your reactions in the comments!
Thomas Hobbes is interesting… It sounds like he was the first philosopher who thought to question Aristotle. Which I find interesting because without Hobbes who knows how much longer we would have followed Aristotle’s teachings that were mostly wrong. I think it ties nicely into last weeks Stephen Hawking quote “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”
Hobbes believed that we needed an absolute and all powerful ruler in order to keep order in these "commonwealths"; we needed a Leviathan to keep us from tearing ourselves apart. Hobbes made people seem very warlike, defensive, and brutish in comparison to Locke. Locke believed that our government should be focused on the people, and in a sense partially controlled by the people. He thought that the power of the government should be limited, because absolute power would be the imminent downfall of any commonwealth.
Hobbes' perspective on the behaviors of man is intriguing. It is hard to argue against his perspectives, even though his work offended most everyone. Even though he supported the authority of a king over a publicly enforced government, he did so only to ensure peace, not because he believed in 'the divine right of monarchy' which means that only God can judge an unjust king. Basically the royalists believe that kings rule directly from the will of God. Hobbes wrote that there is always war, men seek gain, safety, and reputation.
It was interesting to see the compare and contrast of the ideas of Hobbes' and Locke. Both have valid points on specific topics, but others are particularly far fetched. Authority of people most certainly needs to be in forced, but the limits of where the authority originates and the extent of power is clearly debatable between the two.
It was interesting to read about Hobbes and his ideas. I don't necessarily agree with how negative he viewed people but at the same time it was his honest opinion. He offended everyone with his work. He didn't agree with democracy, he believed people should give up their rights. I do not agree with giving up all your rights and putting all your faith in the king or ruler.
Hobbes definitely is an interesting person. He did so many things in his life that it was almost hard to keep up with the moral of his story. I can understand why he offended so many people because I could not imagine giving up my freedom. It some instances it may not be a bad idea, but overall seems to be a bad idea. We do not all think the same and what I believe may not be what the great and almighty leader might believe. From what I was able to grasp from both of the readings, Hobbes and Locke seem to have a lot of similarities. There are differences too that the Hobbes vs Locke youtube video spelled out nicely.
Hobbes belief that people are to give up their freedom an put all their faith in their leader is very interesting. I do not agree with it and I can see how he offended many people. He also believed the ruler must be that of the leviathan and could not be challenged and will keep all the people in line and from harming each other. He believed that people were not capable of doing anything good. I do not agree with Hobbes beliefs and feel that he feels that people should not be created equal.
Although I agree more with Lockes ideals, I found it inspiring that Hobbes published so much of his work that went against everyones beliefs, it shows how truly passionate he was about what he was teaching. I think that in todays world be are a mixture of both Locke and Hobbes ideas of what the world and government should be like and they both played an instrumental role in the creation of our government.
I thought it was interesting because Hobbes seemed to push his ideas out and he was doing that for himself and not anyone else. He was passionate about what he wanted and what he was teaching.
I found the videos interesting. I find that Hobbes would think that people would give up all their right to be ruled by one government is crazy but if that is all you know then I guess that would seem normal. Locke seems to be the more logical and better way to have a government.
One absolute ruler..... Yeah God... I firmly believe if you give the power of many to just a few ...or one... Human nature will make that person rule based on what's in it for them...
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Thomas Hobbes is interesting… It sounds like he was the first philosopher who thought to question Aristotle. Which I find interesting because without Hobbes who knows how much longer we would have followed Aristotle’s teachings that were mostly wrong. I think it ties nicely into last weeks Stephen Hawking quote “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”
ReplyDeleteHobbes believed that we needed an absolute and all powerful ruler in order to keep order in these "commonwealths"; we needed a Leviathan to keep us from tearing ourselves apart. Hobbes made people seem very warlike, defensive, and brutish in comparison to Locke. Locke believed that our government should be focused on the people, and in a sense partially controlled by the people. He thought that the power of the government should be limited, because absolute power would be the imminent downfall of any commonwealth.
ReplyDeleteHobbes' perspective on the behaviors of man is intriguing. It is hard to argue against his perspectives, even though his work offended most everyone. Even though he supported the authority of a king over a publicly enforced government, he did so only to ensure peace, not because he believed in 'the divine right of monarchy' which means that only God can judge an unjust king. Basically the royalists believe that kings rule directly from the will of God. Hobbes wrote that there is always war, men seek gain, safety, and reputation.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to see the compare and contrast of the ideas of Hobbes' and Locke. Both have valid points on specific topics, but others are particularly far fetched. Authority of people most certainly needs to be in forced, but the limits of where the authority originates and the extent of power is clearly debatable between the two.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read about Hobbes and his ideas. I don't necessarily agree with how negative he viewed people but at the same time it was his honest opinion. He offended everyone with his work. He didn't agree with democracy, he believed people should give up their rights. I do not agree with giving up all your rights and putting all your faith in the king or ruler.
ReplyDeleteHobbes definitely is an interesting person. He did so many things in his life that it was almost hard to keep up with the moral of his story. I can understand why he offended so many people because I could not imagine giving up my freedom. It some instances it may not be a bad idea, but overall seems to be a bad idea. We do not all think the same and what I believe may not be what the great and almighty leader might believe. From what I was able to grasp from both of the readings, Hobbes and Locke seem to have a lot of similarities. There are differences too that the Hobbes vs Locke youtube video spelled out nicely.
ReplyDeleteHobbes belief that people are to give up their freedom an put all their faith in their leader is very interesting. I do not agree with it and I can see how he offended many people. He also believed the ruler must be that of the leviathan and could not be challenged and will keep all the people in line and from harming each other. He believed that people were not capable of doing anything good. I do not agree with Hobbes beliefs and feel that he feels that people should not be created equal.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree more with Lockes ideals, I found it inspiring that Hobbes published so much of his work that went against everyones beliefs, it shows how truly passionate he was about what he was teaching. I think that in todays world be are a mixture of both Locke and Hobbes ideas of what the world and government should be like and they both played an instrumental role in the creation of our government.
ReplyDeleteI think I would lean more towards Locke than Hobbes ideas if I had to choose between the 2.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting because Hobbes seemed to push his ideas out and he was doing that for himself and not anyone else. He was passionate about what he wanted and what he was teaching.
ReplyDeleteI found the videos interesting. I find that Hobbes would think that people would give up all their right to be ruled by one government is crazy but if that is all you know then I guess that would seem normal. Locke seems to be the more logical and better way to have a government.
ReplyDeleteOne absolute ruler..... Yeah God... I firmly believe if you give the power of many to just a few ...or one... Human nature will make that person rule based on what's in it for them...
ReplyDelete