Thomas Hobbes

What is the primary ideal of *‘Leviathan’*?

The idea that whoever wields power can be justified in doing so if their people remain safe from the State of Nature.

In what 3 ways does Hobbes reject Aristotle?

1. He rejects the summum bonum, the ‘highest good’ that humans can attain, instead emphasising the summum malum, the innate hope to avoid a sudden, violent death as drivers of human action.

2. He rejects the idea of natural inequality between men and women, masters and slaves. Instead he argues all are equally capable of rational thought.

3. He rejects the idea of humans as inherently political animals, with a sense of good and evil. This is due to his rejection of Aristotelian thick sociability, and his claim that humans, while not incapable of it, are not naturally inclined towards sociability.

How did the English Civil War impact Hobbes?

His justification for absolutism led him to be suspected of monarchism, and he fled to Paris before the war began.

Why does Hobbes reject the Divine Right of Kings?

Hobbes’ anti-metaphysical stance sees him reject religious orthodoxy, and maybe even being a closeted atheist, which undermines the Divine Right’s key premise.

His conventionalism also sees him reject the notion that longstanding principles are the product of some ‘higher’ reality, instead being the product of human agreement.

Why did Hobbes reject the Populist claim of legitimacy?

Hobbes argued that legitimacy is not drawn from popular consent - the people are a ‘disunited multitude’, unable to form consensus.

How did Hobbes argue legitimacy is formed?

States are legitimised in holding supreme power and preventing the people from returning to the State of Nature.

Why did Hobbes oppose revolution?

Hobbes’ empiricism saw him reject political idealism, as an attempt at its implementation through revolution would lead to a return to the State of Nature.

What is the Natural Condition of Mankind?

Hobbes’ State of Nature is a not a historical model but a theoretical framework demonstrating life without the Sovereign.

Which three conditions are present in the State of Nature?

**Competition** over resources for survival

**Diffidence:** a mutual fear that leads to distrust, and situations such as arms races

**Vainglory**: an unrelenting desire to succeed, taking foolish risks

What was Hobbes’ conception of sociability?

Hobbes doesn’t reject human sociability outright, but also rejects Aristotelian *thick sociability*, instead advocating *thin sociability*: though humans can achieve sociability through language, it is not their natural inclination.

What is the **Right of Nature**?

The **Right of Nature** is the right for humans to do whatever they judge necessary to ensure their self-preservation.

What is the **Fundamental Law of Nature?**

The **Fundamental Law of Nature** is to seek peace. However, if peace is not achievable, individuals will seek and use the advantages of war.

What is the **Secondary Law of Nature?**

The **Secondary Law of Nature** is the agreement to lay down the **Right of Nature**, in a co-ordinated fashion with others, and submit to a third party - a sovereign - in exchange for safety from others.

What is **Union**?

For Hobbes, a **union** is a community grounded in the survival interests of the individuals within it. Individuals understand that the preservation of life and liberty requires submitting to a sovereign, and reciprocal assistance.

By contrast, a **concord** is a community built on consensus and friendship. This is not Hobbes’ model.

How is the Sovereign formed?

Through a social contract made by rational-minded humans: the sovereign is a representative of the subjects, who come to have one will. The sovereign ‘bears the collective person’, representing a unity formed by the act of covenanting.

Is the Sovereign subject to the Social Contract?

No - the parties of the social contract submit their rights to the Sovereign, who is not obligated to them in turn. The relationship between the people and the Sovereign is one of submission.

Additionally, as the Sovereign is a representative of the subjects created through the act of covenanting, nothing it does to an individual can be called an injustice.

Is the Sovereign always a person?

No - though often a monarchy or dictatorship, the Sovereign could equally exist as an aristocracy, or even a democracy.