Question

Answer one of the following questions in approximately 250-words.

1. Imagine that the town you are from was the only city to survive some kind of a nuclear war. Imagine, moreover, that all of the police, firemen, etc. were out of town when the war occurred. How would things look in that town? Consider Hobbes' account of human nature and his account of the state of nature. Could you see your town descending into the kind of state that Hobbes describes? Why or why not?

2. What are the key assumptions regarding human nature that lead Hobbes to his account of the state of nature? If you think your city would not be captured by Hobbes' description, where has Hobbes gone wrong? What does he fail to see about human nature?

3. If your city were in a civil war, like the one described above, would you be willing to tolerate a single ruler to restore law and order? What would be the advantages of having a single ruler? What would be the drawbacks?

4. Does Hobbes really advocate for total monarchy? Aren't there some limits as to what the sovereign can command?

Answer 1

Question: Imagine that the town you are from was the only city to survive some kind of a nuclear war. Imagine, moreover, that all of the police, firemen, etc. were out of town when the war occurred. How would things look in that town? Consider Hobbes' account of human nature and his account of the state of nature. Could you see your town descending into the kind of state that Hobbes describes? Why or why not?

Answer: Hobb’s considered human to be fundamentally selfish. He pointed to the animal nature of human being. Accordingly, human being are mechanically driven by their senses and desires as these arise in their body. There actions and decision are not constrained by any external agency. All human actions are naturally inclined towards their personal satisfaction of desires and relieving them of discomforts. Since they are unable to deal with the environmental challenges individual in securing their livelihood on a sustained basis, they join together through kind of social contracts. In order to manage effectively these social contract and extract larger benefits from the same individuals have divest some of their native powers but they retain the ultimate sovereignty.

Since the individual are inclined towards fulfilment of their selfish desires and in a situation a nuclear war and absence of any institutionalized authority to control individual behaviour their self-interest will take over their behaviours. From Hobb’s perspective it would give rise to ‘war of all against all’ for personal survival. People might push others into dangerous situaitons to save their own lives, they capture others belonging for their personal satisfaction etc.. The essence of matter is that without a strong institutional authority to keep people’s behaviours in check and there will be no order in society. Everyone would be trying to save his/her life even at the cost of other. If someone could improve his personal condition at the cost of other loss they will not hesitate doing that.