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Can man survive in The State of Nature? When faced with this question there are three majority answers that will be given. Yes, No or some will say, “Well it depends on who you ask”. Nevertheless, I am here to persuade you into questioning the reality of the state of nature, as it relates to Mankind Survival, through correlations and observations of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes’ writings. In J. Locke and T. Hobbes writing humans exist in two places. The first place is “The State of Nature”, a place in which one is referring to the state of nature; is when one speaks of a condition in which society is non-existing. The second place is “Society”, a place in which a human decides to join and be governed by rules deemed fit by that society. While these two philosophers differ in the way that they see a human, which in return drastically affects the state of which “the state of nature” is lived in. The two opposing views of human will give the widest view of how Society and The State of nature are related to one another.
These “Natural Laws” as stated by John Locke reads, “The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one, and reason, which is that law teachers all mankind, who will consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, liberty, or possession…”. This is the state of nature in which John Locke sees humans taking their first steps in. However, John Locke’s state of nature laws of nature leaves room for
In Second Treatise of Government John Locke characterizes the state of nature as one’s ability to live freely and abide solely to the laws of nature. Therefore, there is no such thing as private property, manmade laws, or a monarch. Locke continues to say that property is a communal commodity; where all humans have the right to own and work considering they consume in moderation without being wasteful. Civil and Political Societies are non-existent until one consents to the notion that they will adhere to the laws made by man, abide by the rules within the community, allow the ability to appoint men of power, and interact in the commerce circle for the sake of the populace. Locke goes further to state that this could be null in void if the governing body over extends their power for the gain of absolute rule. Here, Locke opens the conversation to one’s natural right to rebel against the governing body. I personally and whole heartily agree with Locke’s principles, his notion that all human beings have the natural right to freedoms and the authority to question their government on the basis that there civil liberties are being jeopardized.
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke had some similarities in their beliefs about human nature. They both claimed that humans would always be willing to give up some of their freedom or rights to have security and feel safe. When John Locke says “The enjoyment of rights in the state of nature is unsafe and insecure. Hence, each man joins in society with others to preserve life, liberty, and property.” it is showing that he thinks the state of nature is unsafe, so people give
He makes a strong suggestion by saying, “that creatures of the same species and rank, should also be equal one amongst another, without subordination or subjection, unless the lord and master of them all should, by any manifest declaration of his will, set one above another, and confer on him, by an evident and clear appointment, an undoubted right to dominion and sovereignty.” For people to confirm the state of Nature, a law is set that obliges people to follow and consult it. The Law of Nature brings many things that need to be followed by each person. Locke describes the law’s consequences if not obeyed by saying, “the execution of the law of Nature is in that state put into every man’s hands, whereby every one has a right to punish the transgressors of that law to such a degree as may hinder its violation.” Every law is fair and equal to every person.
Likewise, enhancing culture by producing art, music, or writing would not be practical in a state of nature, because the lack of security and compensation would make perusing such a field unsafe. Without law, there would be no viable way to publish a person’s work. Instead of sharing with others, humans would merely live to fear death. Therefore, Hobbes concludes the passage by saying that the state of nature would lead to “continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”1. Without the contracts that bond a society, humans would fear other humans. They would always be at risk to the “danger of violent death”1 as humans would act violently towards other humans to achieve their desires. So, in a state of nature, a human would likely maintain a solitary lifestyle to avoid conflict with other humans. A human would also live a “poor, nasty, [and] brutish”1 lifestyle without seeking the help of other people who have their own strengths. Also, without the influence of culture, a human may struggle to assign themselves an identity or a goal to pursue. Life
Human beings are naturally societal and relational. Even before the Neolithic revolution, humans roved around in groups, hence hunters and gatherers societies, not hunter or gatherer (singular). People stayed tougher not only for collective security, prosperity and necessity, but mainly for the benefit of the self. Whether for protection, emotional need or monetary gain, individuals, as a result, banded together in order to satisfy those needs first. If humans were always societal, in one form or the other (by societal, I mean always in conjunction with other humans: families, tribes, kingdoms, etc.), then the idea of a pure state of nature does not exist. A state of nature implies a time when people did not have societies but if humans always had societies, then what the history of man is simply a history of the ranging developments of different forms of societies over time. What political philosophers identified as “state of nature” are simply, observations or conjectures of human rationality, characteristics and the human condition. A “state of nature” has to exist only in order to justify the institutional arrangements of a group of people, whether it is real or not.
John Locke explains the state of nature as a state of equality in which no one has power over another, and all are free to do as they please. He notes, however, that this liberty does not equal license to abuse others, and that natural law exists even in the state of nature. Each individual in the state of nature has the power to execute natural laws, which are universal.
In order to examine either philosopher’s views on property and its origins, it is necessary to go back to the beginning of human development, as it were, and discuss their different conceptions of the state of nature. As opposed to Hobbes whose vision of the state of nature was a state of war, Locke’s state of nature is a time of peace and stability. “We must consider what State all Men are naturally in, and that is, a State of perfect Freedom…A State also of Equality, wherein all the Power and Jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another.” (Locke, Second Tre...
Locke believes that state of nature is pre-political but at the same time it is not pre-moral. He believes that everyone i...
Hobbes’s initial argument of natural state, in human nature, proves how society is in a constant state of destruction, mentally and physically, if not under control or command. Although Hobbes’s opinion was morally correct, Rousseau believes that all people are born in a state of emptiness, somewhat of a blank state, and it is life experiences that determine their nature, society being a major driving force for people’s ill-will and lack of moral sensibilities. Hobbes, overall, is proven correct because all people need to be directed in order for society to properly function. Hobbes’ theory on the condition of the state of nature, and government are not only more applicable today, but his reasoning is far sounder than that of Rousseau. These concepts were significantly conditionally reliant.
nature is not as in the plant and tree kind of nature, but on the nature of man at a
Theories of human nature, as the term would ever so subtly suggest, are at best only individual assertions of the fundamental and intrinsic compositions of mankind, and should be taken as such. Indeed it can be said that these assertions are both many and widespread, and yet too it can be said that there are a select few assertions of the nature of man that rise above others when measured by historical persistence, renown, and overall applicability. These eclectic discourses on the true nature of man have often figured largely in theories of political science, typically functioning as foundational structures to broader claims and arguments. The diversification of these ideological assertions, then, would explain the existence of varying theories
The understanding of the state of nature is essential to both theorists’ discussions. For Hobbes, the state of nature is equivalent to a state of war. Locke’s description of the state of nature is more complex: initially the state of nature is one of “peace, goodwill, mutual assistance and preservation”. Transgressions against the law of nature, or reason which “teaches mankind that all being equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty and possessions,” are but few. The state of nature, according to Locke’s Treatise, consists of the society of man, distinct from political society, live together without any superior authority to restrict and judge their actions. It is when man begins to acquire property that the state of nature becomes somewhat less peaceful.
A state of nature is a hypothetical state of being within a society that defines such a way that particular community behaves within itself. English philosopher Thomas Hobbes proclaimed that, “A state of nature is a state of war.” By this, Hobbes means that every human being, given the absence of government or a contract between other members of a society, would act in a war-like state in which each man would be motivated by desires derived solely with the intention of maximizing his own utility.
The external conflict of nature against man never becomes resolved, as nature ends the man and his goals. For example, the severe cold weather prevented the man fro...
Rousseau presumes that in the beginning, humans were living in a peaceful state of nature and lived in equality, but as civilization progressed it began to change man as challenges became more elaborate, lives became more complicated, development of the possession of property began, and habitually more comparisons were made amongst us. The first law of nature also contributed to our sense of ownership. The first law of nature recognized by Rousseau is self-preservation; we care about ourselves then society and this law is used to defend or prove our own independence. As a result or this change of civility, we shifted to a state of nature that was far from grace, where we desired the suffering of others, only cared about ourselves, and developed the meaning of inequalities. People realized that their natural rights could no longer coexist with their freedom in the state of nature and also that they would perish if they did not leave the state of nature. Therefore, the state of nature no longer became desirable and society restored that motive; in this new societal environment we develop morals to handle conflicts and help preserve ourselves. Locke believes that while in our natural state we all have morals, though Rousseau challenges that belief by claiming that society generates a moral character within us. Rousseau insists that everyone can be free and live