CTI 302 - Hobbes Ch. 10-11 (Oct 19)

Study questions for Mon Oct 19 quiz: power, felicity, power after power, obeying civil power, Hobbes vs. Aristotle.

(Ch. 10) How does Hobbes define "power"?

A man's "present means to obtain some future apparent good." Power is forward-looking: it's about securing future goods, not enjoying present ones.

(Ch. 10) Natural vs. instrumental power

Natural: eminence of the faculties of body or mind

• e.g., strength, beauty, prudence, arts, eloquence, nobility

Instrumental: powers acquired by natural powers or by fortune, used as means to get more

• e.g., riches, reputation, friends, good luck

(Ch. 10) What is the greatest of human powers?

The power compounded of the powers of most men, united by consent in one person — i.e., the commonwealth / sovereign.

(Ch. 10) Is the reputation of power itself power?

Yes. Reputation of power is power because it draws the adherence of those who need protection. Seeming powerful (being loved, feared, successful) adds to real power.

(Ch. 10) What is the "worth" or "value" of a man?

His "price": as much as would be given for the use of his power. It is not absolute but depends on the need and judgment of another (set like a market price, not by intrinsic excellence).

(Ch. 10) Honor vs. dignity

Honoring = manifesting the value we set on another (high value = honor, low = dishonor). Dignity = a man's public worth, the value set on him by the commonwealth (offices, titles).

Why does power play such an important role in Hobbes' thought as a whole?

All desire aims at future goods and the future is uncertain, so everyone needs power to secure whatever they want. Power is the universal means to every end — its restless pursuit explains human conflict (the state of war) and why a supreme common power (the sovereign) is needed.

(Ch. 11) What does Hobbes mean by "manners"?

Not etiquette, but "those qualities of mankind that concern their living together in peace and unity."

(xi.1) What does Hobbes DENY about happiness?

That felicity is the "repose of a mind satisfied." There is no finis ultimus (utmost aim) or summum bonum (greatest good) as the old moral philosophers (e.g., Aristotle) claimed. A man whose desires are at an end can no more live than one whose senses and imagination stop.

(xi.1) What is felicity (happiness) according to Hobbes?

"A continual progress of the desire from one object to another" — attaining one object is only the way to the next. The aim is not to enjoy once, but to assure forever the way of one's future desire.

(xi.2) What is "a general inclination of all mankind"?

"A perpetual and restless desire of power after power, that ceaseth only in death."

(xi.2) WHY do people seek power after power?

Not necessarily because they want more intense delight or can't be content with moderate power, but because they cannot assure the power and means to live well they have now without acquiring more. (Ex: kings turn to laws at home and wars abroad.)

What is the relationship between happiness and power for Hobbes?

Happiness = continual success in getting what one desires; power = the means to future goods. So securing happiness requires ever more power. Desires differ by person (no common highest good), but everyone shares the need for power.

(xi.3) Which desires incline men to contention, enmity, and war?

Competition for riches, honor, command, or other power — because one competitor's way to his desire is to kill, subdue, supplant, or repel the other.

(xi.4) For Hobbes, what can lead people to obey a civil (common) power?

1) Desire of ease and sensual delight; 2) fear of death and wounds; 3) desire of knowledge and the arts of peace (which need leisure and protection). By contrast, needy, ambitious men seeking military command incline to war and sedition.

Aristotle's view of the natural human condition

Man is by nature a political animal; the city exists by nature and is prior to the individual; speech (logos) lets humans share perceptions of the advantageous, just, and good; one who lives outside the city is a beast or a god; the city exists for the sake of living well (virtue).

Hobbes vs. Aristotle: the obvious differences on human nature

Hobbes: humans are NOT naturally political or sociable; the commonwealth is artificial, made by covenant out of fear; the natural condition is war of all against all; there is no summum bonum, so politics aims at peace and security, not virtue; humans are naturally equal (vs. Aristotle's natural hierarchy).

What is the effect of Hobbes' argument in cementing the case for an orderly political society?

Since there is no natural highest good to unite people and everyone restlessly seeks power, peace can't come from nature or shared virtue — only from an overwhelming common power. Order becomes the precondition for pursuing any happiness at all, and the fear of violent death (an evil all share) gives everyone a reason to accept it.

(Ch. 11, later) What does ignorance of causes lead to?

Reliance on the advice and authority of others; ignorance of natural causes disposes to credulity; anxiety about the future plus ignorance of causes produces fear of invisible powers — the seed of religion.