Ethics Quiz Two - Hobbes

first of what?

first early modern philosophers

what language does he write in and why is it important?

English - First philosopher to write in common tongue, making it accessible to all people

What does vernacular mean?

Common tongue (our tongue)

The fall of the Roman Empire gives us what five Romance languages?

English, French, Spanish, Italian, Romanian

Where did the romance languages come from?

They come from Latin

Hobbs is born in?

1588

how did Hobbs mom give birth to him?

She saw the Spanish Armada coming to wage war on England, this caused her to have a panic attack and induce labor. Hobbs says two things were born that day, himself and fear.

what drives Hobbs philosophy?

Fear

Hobbs is the first person to give us a formalized version of?

the social contract

what are the two types of motion?

Vital motion and Voluntary motion

Vital motion

the motion that goes on in your body that keeps you alive (blood pumping, breathing, so on)

Voluntary motion

begins in the imagination, it starts in the mind. You have to think about something before you can do it.

What does Hobbs think about our emotions?

That they are voluntary

what are the three options for how we as humans can feel about something?

Love it, hate it, or indifferent about it - all of these start in the mind

What do our appetites influence?

what we decide is good and bad

Three types of good?

Good in the promise - Pulcrum

Good in effect - Jucundum

Good as the means - Utime

Three types of bad?

Bad in the promise - Turpa

Bad in effect - Molesthem

Bad as the means - Inutimes

what does Hobbes believe about Finis ultimus and summon bonum?

There is no such finis ultimus - final goal

Nor is there a summum bonum - greatest good

What does Hobbes think humans seek?

Power (over other humans, to control, to persuade)

what are the 5 ways people seek power?

1. competition for riches, the desire to be wealthy

2. a desire of ease or a sensual life

3. we seek power because of a fear of death - to perpetuate a long life

4. ambition of military command

5. the desire for knowledge

The state of nature for Hobbes

• It's a war of all against all

• the life of man is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short

why is it solitary?

War of all against all - you don't have any friends, you don't have anybody working/helping you survive, you're by yourself, you're on your own.

why is it poor?

It's poor because you don't want to be killed when people come to steal your stuff

why is it nasty?

Because people can easily take advantage of you when you shower or bath so you would avoid doing that

Why is it brutish?

You live like an animal, you live off instinct

Why is it short?

All of the above - because everybody's trying to kill you

Sleep for Hobbes?

Sleep is the great equalizer - if someone is stronger than you, all you have to do to beat them is wait for them to sleep - allows everybody the opportunity to thrive in a state of nature

What does Hobbes say is the way out of a state of nature?

forming confederacy groups - “If you let me sleep and stand guard so no one comes and kills me in my sleep, then I’ll stand guard while you sleep, then we both get to sleep and no one gets killed”

when you make the move from solitary to confederacy what are you doing?

moving from the state of nature to the social contract

social contract

the rules we agree to live by

who do you elect when you form a social contract to enforce rules?

sovereign or a king

The right of nature (jus natural)

The liberty each person has to use his own power as he who will himself for the preservation of his own Nature

law of nature (lex naturalis)

A law of nature is a precept or general rule found out by reason

So what do you have to have to discover the laws of nature?

An understanding of philosophy

nature is what?

lawless

you can’t study philosophy in a state of nature

it’s impossible to focus on philosophy when your worrying about basic needs like food, water, shelter

11 rules of nature to live by?

1. Seek peace and follow it - The violation of this is war

2. Lay down your rights only when it is safe to do so - violation is injury

3. keep your word, keep your promises - v: injustice

4. return benefit for benefit. Someone does good to you, do good to them - v: ingratitude

5. accommodate others. Here he means to be sociable - v: intractable, to be grouchy, curmudgeonly

6. pardon those that repent - v: an aversion to peace

7. look to the good - v: cruelty

8. do not be contemptuous of others - v: to be insulting

9. acknowledge others as equal - v: pride

10. claim no right for yourself that you would not give to others - v: arrogance

11. If a good cannot be divided, it must be shared in common - v: inequality

what other philosopher do you see hints of in Hobbes's work?

Aristotle