Political science and international relations -Paper 1- Western thinkers - Hobbes.

Importance of Hobbes:

The importance of Hobbes theories lies in his attempt to draw human laws based on laws of physical world, inspired directly by his contemporaries Kaplan and Galileo. This lead him to develop an absolutist theory of sovereignty, one which was accepted by the Parliamentarians nor by the royalists, both of whom saw a difference with Hobbes. This led to philosophers such as Taylor and Warrender derive Hobbes theory based on Natural law, instead of positivist that he is, with divine obligation into absolute sovereignty.

Going into the Theory:

Hobbes considered humans before the formation of civil society who is guided by vital and voluntary motions. These vital motions such as blood pumping are needed for our preservation and any voluntary motion having effect on these vital motions are characterised into desire and aversion.

In this state of nature guided only by our motions, Hobbes declares that life would be short, nasty and Brutish where every man would strive for his self preservation and constantly fight to preserve what he already achieved.

To survive this he drew upon the laws of Nature, which according to him are eternal, which form the basis for human peace and preservation of all. Critics has argued that if these were eternal what were they doing during the brutal state of nature and also why would men follow them because there is always a fear that other person wont. This is equated to present day Prisoner’s dilemma.

Now he brings in sovereign by forming a covenant among men who transfer him power to look after their defence and peace. But the sovereign is outside the covenant and is supreme in so far as he is the final authority on the natural law. The only limitation of the sovereign is he should act for the self preservation of men. In many ways his theory was of enlightened despotism.

The important point here is that he did not derive this authority from God but from Men forming a covenant.

Hobbes on Liberty:

Hobbesinian liberty is close to present day liberty in that the man is a liberty to do anything which is not otherwise allowed by the natural law or the civil law laid down by the sovereign.

Single point:

1. He was the father of us all - Karl Mar.
2. Wrote Leviathan- “State of Nature”.
3. Father of Modern political nation, one in which political authority is impersonal.