Utopia And Leviathan - 2186 Words

Thomas MoresUtopia and Thomas Hobbes Leviathan each offer alternatives to the worlds in which they lived.. Mores society, viewed through the character Hythloday, is seemingly based on mans nature in society being generally good, and the faults of man emanate from how society itself is set up. Hobbes takes the opposite view of human nature, where mans will to survive makes him unable to act out of goodness and it is man who is responsible for societys ills. Both Leviathan and Utopia contain faults in logic that work to undermine the very possibility for these new social structures. In the following I will show how each of their views for a new society give insight into what their beliefs of human nature are, while showing some†¦show more content†¦Close inspection of these rules give insight into how More may have really viewed human nature. In the following excerpts we find evidence that More may have found man untrustworthy and in need of social control, or at the very least spiritual control. The vast majority of Utopians  ¦ believe in a single power, unknown, eternal, infinite, inexplicable, far beyond the grasp of the human mind, and diffused throughout the universe, not physically but in influence. Him they call father, and to him alone they attribute the origin, increase, progress, change, and end of all visible things; they do not offer divine honors to any other.  ¦ (Utopus) left the whole matter (choosing a religion) open, allowing each person to choose what he would believe. The only exception was a positive and strict law against anyone who would sink so far below the dignity of human nature as to think that the soul perishes with the body, or that the universe is ruled by blind chance, not divine providence.  ¦ Therefore a man who holds such views is offered no honors, entrusted with no offices, and given no public responsibility, he is universally regarded as a low and sordid fellowï ¿ ½ (pp.516-518 This excerpt shows the ambivalence that More has about human nature. He sees man as essentially good but whenever an individual has ideas of their own they are regarded as inferior. This creates anotherShow MoreRelated Comparing Mores Utopia, Machiavellis The Discourses, and Hobbes The Leviathan2608 Words   |  11 PagesRelationship Between the Sovereign and the Subjects in  Mores Utopia, Machiavellis The Discourses, and Hobbes The Leviathan  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Thomas More, Niccolo Machiavelli, and Thomas Hobbes offer models for the relationship between the sovereign and the people in their works Utopia, The Discourses, and The Leviathan. Each argues that ensuring the common good of the people should be the primary goal of the sovereign. However, they differ in the specifics of their descriptions of this relationshipRead MorePersonal Freedom in Leviathan and Candide Essay1621 Words   |  7 PagesThe basis of Leviathan relies upon a theoretical readjustment of the state of social affairs. Candide, on the other hand, is that state of social affairs. Whereas Hobbess Leviathan relates that of how the state of human nature can be changed and adapted to a desirable social order, Voltaires Candide shows the difficulty of being within the sorry state of the human experience. But where does the concept of personal freedom come into play within these two basic premises? And how can a personRead MorePolitical Philosophy And The Natural Law856 Wo rds   |  4 Pagesthe commonwealth requires individuals to abdicate themselves to what is known as Leviathan – a â€Å"coercive power compelling individuals to live by their covenant or so-called contract.† (Personal Liberty, 383) Additionally, Hobbes believed that people are not innately or socially altruistic – sympathetic towards another being. (Personal Liberty, 401) He believed that people were driven by egoistic desires and the Leviathan will help individuals achieve their egoistic goals. Although Hobbes’s theory mayRead MoreThe Social Contract : Hobbes Vs. Rousseau1457 Words   |  6 Pagesfreedoms to the government in return for protection of their remaining rights. Throughout history, there have been a number of philosophers that have discussed the social contract and each philosopher has had there own social contract theories. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes was the foundation for social contract theory in Western political philosophy. While The S ocial Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau was written a century later and inspired political reforms in Europe. Both Hobbes and Rousseau in theirRead More Human Nature as Viewed by Thomas Hobbes and David Hume Essay example1948 Words   |  8 PagesHuman Nature as Viewed by Thomas Hobbes and David Hume Thomas Hobbes in Chapter 13 of Leviathan, and David Hume in Section 3 of An Enquiry Concerning the Princples of Morals, give views of human nature. Hobbes’ view captures survivalism as significant in our nature but cannot account for altruism. We cover Hobbes’ theory with a theory of Varied Levels of Survivalism, explaining a larger body of behavior with the foundation Hobbes gives. Hume gives a scenario which does not directly proveRead MoreIs Thomas More s Utopia?1374 Words   |  6 PagesThomas More’s Utopia is a work of fiction that explores the idea of the commonwealth of Utopia as an ideal society both governmentally and productively. Later thinkers delved deeper into the questions of society, looking at why people enter societies, what type of governments are most successful, and distribution of wealth among the population. Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Adam Smith, and Karl Marx all had varying thoughts on how to achieve social order in the societies in which they lived. Their differingRead MoreAnalysis Of Alan Moores Watchmen 1482 Words   |  6 Pagessocial agreement, it would represent a utopia: One in which each man holds the same values and ideologies of those of his neighbor, resulting in a truly peaceful, conflict free, and perfect society. In this paper, I posit that Alan Moore’s â€Å"Watchmen† critiques the possibility of such a utopia existing, arguing that while all states seek to achieve complete social agreement, inevitable irreconcilable conflicting ideologies amongst a state’s citizens make utopia an impossible goal, and eventually precipitateRead MoreHobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Machiavelli Essay1855 Words   |  8 Pagesthis can be seen in his writings concerning morality. He saw the Judeo-Christian values as faulty in the states success. Such visionary expectations, he held, bring the state to ruin, for we do not live in the world of the ought, the fanciful utopia, but in the world of is. The princes role was not to promote virtue, but to insure security. He reasoned that the Judeo-Christian values would make a ruler week if he actually possessed them, but that they could be useful in dealing with theRead MoreEssay on Going Green in the Home1671 Words   |  7 Pagesmotive has thus the effect of developments that have been initiated with an attempt to ensure a reverse of the situation. Such a world where nature is in unison with the environment is like the one depicted by Sir Thomas More in his 1516 book Utopia. Utopia was depicted to be an island; a fictional one though in the Atlantic Ocean that had an ideal society, as the creator of the fiction depicted the world ought to be, universally. Such a state, as was first proposed by Plato in his book, RepublicRead MoreLiberalism And The Ethical And Logical Level Essay1332 Words   |  6 Pagesfundamental contradictions and issues in Liberalism is the question of the power and neutrality of the state. Liberal neutrality can be understood as the idea that a neoliberal state should not promote any specific concept of perfectionism, social utopia or the ‘’good’’. This is concept is often used in critiques of multiculturalism and collective rights movements. We will be discussing the theories of some liberal authors such as John Rawls, Locke, Mill, Nozick, and Waldron among others whose philosophies