Malcolm Rivera
The writings of Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher, have been noted to have influenced the US Constitution. Hobbes, who witnessed the English Civil War, advocated for governance by an absolute sovereign in his work, Leviathan, as a solution to societal breakdown. Hobbes' work popularized the idea of a state of nature, where humans are in a state of war, pursuing their interests, and free from societal norms. This idea of a social contract, where individuals establish a government to secure peace, was a significant influence on the Founding Fathers. However, they rejected Hobbes' argument for absolute monarchy, instead favoring the ideas of John Locke, who believed in natural rights and consent of the governed. While Hobbes' influence on the US Constitution is debated, with some arguing that Locke and Montesquieu had a greater impact, his ideas on governance and the role of the sovereign were a part of the intellectual discourse that shaped the American Revolution and the subsequent Constitution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Influence on the US Constitution | Hobbes's ideas about a strong leader with absolute power influenced Article 2 of the US Constitution, which details the executive branch. |
| Social Contract Theory | Hobbes's idea of a social contract, where individuals establish a government to escape a state of war, was embraced by the Founding Fathers. |
| State of Nature | Hobbes believed that without an effective authority, society would descend into a state of war, also known as the "state of nature." |
| Monarchy | Hobbes preferred monarchy as a form of government, with a single person at the apex and fixed rules of succession. |
| Influence on Founding Fathers | Hobbes's ideas about human nature and the need for government influenced the Founding Fathers, although they rejected his argument for absolute monarchical power. |
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What You'll Learn
Hobbes' belief in a strong leader
Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher whose writings influenced the American Founding Fathers when establishing America. Hobbes's life coincided with a turbulent period in English history, marked by the execution of Charles I, the Civil Wars, the Commonwealth, the Protectorate, and the Stuart Restoration. This fact, perhaps more than any other, explains Hobbes's interest in securing the stability of the state. From his earliest writings to his major political works, Hobbes's overriding concern was overcoming civil war and internal instability.
Hobbes believed that without a government, people would live in a "state of nature," where there would be no law or central authority, and life would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." In this state, individuals would be free to pursue their interests, but this would result in a state of war as people compete for resources. To escape this warfare, Hobbes argued that individuals must establish a government to secure peace, forming the basis of his Social Compact theory of government.
Hobbes believed that a strong leader, or sovereign, was necessary to enforce the social contract and maintain order. He argued that an absolute monarch should rule with unlimited power, as the division of powers would lead to anarchy and a return to the state of nature. While Hobbes conceded that the identity of the sovereign was uncertain, he preferred monarchy due to the unity provided by a single leader and fixed rules of succession. He believed that the sovereign's power included the authority to judge moral and political matters and enforce those judgments, a view that has been refuted by the distribution of powers in modern liberal societies.
Hobbes's arguments for absolute sovereignty have been criticized, and the Founding Fathers rejected his assertion that the government should have absolute power over its subjects. Instead, they favored the ideas of John Locke, who argued for a constitutional government ruled by the consent of the governed and popular sovereignty. However, Hobbes's influence on the Founding Fathers cannot be overlooked, as his writings provided a basis for their thinking and shaped their understanding of government and social contract theory.
In conclusion, Hobbes's belief in a strong leader was rooted in his concern for stability and order. He argued that a powerful sovereign was necessary to enforce the social contract and prevent society from devolving into a state of war. While his ideas about absolute monarchy were not fully adopted by the Founding Fathers, his writings influenced their thinking and contributed to the development of American political philosophy.
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Hobbes' view of human nature
Thomas Hobbes's views on human nature were deeply pessimistic. He is known for his dim outlook on mankind's capacity for peace and cooperation, famously describing life in a 'state of nature' as 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short'. Hobbes's views were shaped by the turmoil of the English Civil War, which he witnessed firsthand. In his seminal work, "Leviathan", published in 1651, Hobbes lays bare his grim understanding of human nature.
At the core of Hobbes's philosophy is the belief that humans are inherently selfish and driven by fear of death and a hunger for gain. This self-interest, according to Hobbes, inevitably leads to conflict. Without a strong central authority to impose order, Hobbes argues, society collapses into chaos. This authority figure, which he calls the 'Leviathan', becomes necessary to keep the peace and protect its citizens from themselves. Hobbes's endorsement of absolute power in the hands of a sovereign ruler, preferably a monarch, stems from this fundamental belief in the corruptibility of human nature.
Hobbes's mechanistic worldview further shapes his views on human nature. He draws on his understanding of physics and the human mind to develop a 'science of politics'. Hobbes compares the human mind to a machine, driven by the push and pull of pleasure and pain. Kindness, he argues, is merely a mask for self-interest, and morality is a tool to disguise our underlying selfishness. This mechanistic perspective extends to his interpretation of human behaviour, where he sees individuals as rational actors pursuing their own interests.
Hobbes's philosophy stands in contrast to that of his contemporaries, such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Locke, writing a few years after Hobbes, challenges the notion that humans are inherently corrupt. He argues that if guided by moral law, people can live without an absolute ruler. Rousseau takes an even more optimistic view, asserting that humans are born good and are corrupted by society—a direct opposition to Hobbes's belief in innate human selfishness.
Despite the pessimistic outlook on human nature, Hobbes's ideas have had a lasting impact on political thought. His concept of the social contract, where individuals establish a government to escape the state of nature, has been influential. The Founding Fathers of the United States, for example, were familiar with Hobbes's ideas, although they ultimately rejected his argument for absolute sovereign power, embracing Locke's philosophy of natural rights and consent of the governed instead.
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Hobbes' advocacy for an absolute sovereign
The English philosopher Thomas Hobbes is widely regarded as one of the great political philosophers, whose masterwork Leviathan rivals in significance the political writings of Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, and Rawls. Hobbes is famous for his early and elaborate development of what has come to be known as "social contract theory".
Hobbes advocated for an absolute sovereign, a position that stems from his belief that the alternative to government is a situation no one could reasonably wish for. He argued that any attempt to make the government accountable to the people would threaten a return to the state of nature, which he believed was a state of war where human life was "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short". Hobbes thought that the state of nature was something to be avoided at all costs, except for self-preservation, which he saw as a "right of nature".
Hobbes believed that an absolute sovereign was necessary to prevent a return to the state of nature. He argued that the right of nature is transferred to the sovereign, making them all-powerful and the sole agent in society who can decide how people are governed. This results in the elimination of physical conflict between peers, as subjects are obliged by the sovereign's power to obey them, thus preventing conflict between subjects.
Hobbes also believed that imposing limitations on the authority of the government would invite irresoluble disputes over whether it has overstepped those limits. He argued that if each person is to decide for themselves whether the government should be obeyed, factional disagreement and war are possible outcomes. To avoid governmental collapse and a return to the state of nature, Hobbes believed that people should treat their sovereign as having absolute authority.
Hobbes's advocacy for an absolute sovereign was based on his mechanistic picture of the world, in which he suggested that threats of force do not deprive us of liberty. According to Hobbes, liberty is the freedom of motion, and we are free to move whichever way we wish unless physically restrained. If we obey the sovereign out of fear of punishment or a return to the state of nature, that is our choice, and such obedience constitutes a promise to continue obeying.
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Hobbes' influence on the Founding Fathers
The English philosopher Thomas Hobbes was born in 1588 and witnessed the destruction and brutality of the English Civil War between Parliamentarians and Royalists. He was also exposed to European scientific and critical methods during his grand tour of Europe between 1610 and 1615. These experiences influenced his advocacy for governance by an absolute sovereign in his famous work, "Leviathan", as the solution to human conflict and societal breakdown. Hobbes argued that without a government, humans would live in a "state of nature", where their lives would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short".
Hobbes's ideas had a significant influence on the Founding Fathers of the United States. The Founding Fathers were well-versed in the writings of Enlightenment philosophers, and Hobbes was one of the first of these Enlightenment thinkers. His ideas about the self-interested nature of humans and the need for a social contract to escape the "state of nature" resonated with the Founding Fathers, who were seeking to establish a new form of government for their nation.
However, it is important to note that the Founding Fathers did not fully embrace all of Hobbes's ideas. They rejected his argument that the government should have absolute power over its subjects and that an absolute monarchy was the best form of government. Instead, they favoured the ideas of John Locke, who argued that rulers should derive their authority from the consent of the governed and that the governed had the right to overthrow the government if it failed to protect their natural rights.
Nonetheless, Hobbes's influence can be seen in the Founding Fathers' creation of a strong executive branch in Article 2 of the Constitution. This branch was designed to have a powerful leader, reflecting Hobbes's belief in the need for a strong leader to maintain order. Additionally, Hobbes's ideas about the social contract and the state of nature may have informed the Founding Fathers' understanding of the role of government in protecting the rights and freedoms of its citizens.
Overall, while Hobbes's influence on the Founding Fathers was nuanced and complex, his ideas about human nature, governance, and the social contract played a role in shaping their thinking as they established the United States of America.
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Hobbes' social contract theory
The English philosopher Thomas Hobbes is widely regarded as one of the greatest political philosophers of the 17th century. Hobbes lived during the English Civil War, a crucial period in early modern England's history. His experiences of social and political turmoil shaped his thought but never hampered his intellectual development. He was also exposed to the Scientific Revolution, which influenced his thinking. Hobbes is famous for his early and elaborate development of "social contract theory", which is the method of justifying political principles by appealing to the agreement that would be made among suitably situated rational, free, and equal persons.
In his philosophical masterpiece, "Leviathan" (1651), Hobbes posited that in a "state of nature", men and women were free to pursue and defend their interests, which resulted in a ""state of war" in which human life was "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short". Hobbes believed that the state of nature could occur at the beginning of time, in "primitive" societies, or even in 17th-century England if the King's authority was successfully undermined.
To escape this state of war, individuals established a government to secure peace, which forms the basis of social contract theory. According to Hobbes, the necessity of an absolute authority, in the form of a sovereign, followed from the brutality of the state of nature. He argued that anarchy would follow from a lack of powerful central authority, and mankind would revert to the state of nature. Hobbes believed that a government headed by an absolute monarch could ensure the enforcement of the social contract and, therefore, suggested that hereditary monarchs be allowed to rule with absolute authority.
However, Hobbes conceded that his system had one uncertainty: who or what should constitute sovereign power. While it was natural for him to think of a King or Queen, he was also familiar with ancient forms of government, including aristocracy and democracy. Ultimately, Hobbes preferred monarchy because of the unity that comes from having a single person at the apex, along with fixed rules of succession that pre-empt disputes.
Hobbes's social contract theory has had a profound impact on subsequent work in political philosophy, although his substantive conclusions have mostly served as a foil for the development of more palatable philosophical positions. The Founding Fathers, for example, rejected Hobbes's argument that the government should have absolute power over its subjects. Instead, they favoured the ideas of John Locke, particularly the assertions that men had natural rights, rulers should derive their authority from the consent of the governed, and the governed had the right to overthrow the government if it failed to protect their natural rights or broke the social contract.
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Frequently asked questions
Hobbes believed that humans are self-interested and require a strong leader to escape a state of war. He supported governance by an absolute sovereign, who would have complete authority over citizens and their property.
Locke was more optimistic about humans' ability to use reason to avoid tyranny. He believed that a ruler's authority comes from the consent of the governed and that citizens have a right to rebel if their natural rights are not protected.
The Founding Fathers rejected Hobbes' argument that the government should have absolute power. They favoured the ideas of Locke, particularly the notion that citizens have natural rights and the right to overthrow the government if needed.
While Hobbes was one of the first Enlightenment thinkers, and his ideas about the social contract were influential, his belief in absolute sovereignty did not align with the principles of the US Constitution. The Constitution was more strongly influenced by Locke and Montesquieu, who shared some similarities with Hobbes but were critics of his work.
