Comparing Thomas Hobbes And John Locke

Locke’s natural rights were critical for the formation of United States government as we know it today, especially through the writing of his Second Treatise on Government. This second treatise is what is most often quoted about Locke. This is his writing that contains an unrestricted defense of liberty and his concept of natural rights, life, health, liberty, and possessions. (Locke) He believed that governments should only be formed to protect those rights.

Locke wanted a government to protect our natural rights. Hobbes believed that power resided to the Monarch. Locke believed that power resided to the people. Hobbes believed that a government’s power cannot be limited. Locke believed that a government’s power can be limited.

John Locke and Thomas Hobbes were early English philosophers who each had very different views on the roles of the government and the people being governed. Their interpretations of human nature each had a lasting and vast impact on modern political science. Locke believed that men had the right to revolt against oppressive government. “‘Being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.”

John Locke wrote the Second Treatise, a document in which he discusses the idea of the laws of Nature. From his understanding he believes that in order to fully understand what your government is like you need to view it in a natural way. All men are born equal, none of them are better or above one another. Each man his own separate rights. They have the freedom to order their own lives and property.

Philosophical ideas impacted human history, particularly in government. Niccolo Machiavelli and John Locke ideation molded human history on how power should be divided equally amongst the people and the ruler. Their theories began the steps to construction of the U.S government. Machiavelli ideas migrated the power in monarchies away form the power of the church to the King/Queen. Particularly starting in Florence during the renaissance and political enlightenment.

He said that democracy was for the selfish people who were trying to hide their bad decisions. John Locke John Locke was born on August 29, 1632, in Wrington, England. Locke was an english physician and philosopher. He went to University of Oxford. He had this mentor called Robert Boyle who was a relevant scientist.

There may also be some differentiating ideas regarding these two sources. An example of this may be that, even though Jefferson and Locke agreed that the people should be able to overthrow the government if their rights were encroached upon, Hobbes believed that this would lead to a state of nature, which wouldn’t end greatly. The first way that the Declaration of Independence and

Introductory Paragraph (description of theory) John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) is a English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thinkers and known as the "Father of Classical Liberalism”. Locke got a scholarship to Oxford University where he spent 30 years at Oxford, studying, tutoring, and writing. He wrote influential political science and philosophy. Locke 's famous theory had to do with the Social Contract theory. The Social Contract covers the origin of government and how much authority a state should have over an individual.

Andrea Guardado Mrs. Saleh World History October 4th, 2016 The Intelligence Era The Enlightenment lasted from the 1600s to the 1700s. It was a time when being intelligent was appraised. Wise people had different thoughts during the time of knowledge. Not all of them agreed on each other’s ideas, but they all mostly had the same vision of how different people should be treated equally (Background Essay).

Some of Hobbes’ beliefs were even stated in the Declaration of Independence. For instance, his belief that people should give up their rights that lead toward violence, his wanted a government that would allow people to live in peace, and that the government should prevent violence and

The Common Sense pamphlet was written by Thomas Paine he was an editor for the Pennsylvanian magazine. The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson. These two authors, Paine and Jefferson got their ideas from the Enlightenment philosophers Voltaire, Locke, Rousseau, and Montesquieu. One philosopher’s ideas that was found in both documents was Voltaire.

Thinkers Beliefs How their ideas were radical at that time How their ideas are related to classical liberalism Hobbes His belief was that the reason why humans have so many problems is because of their greed to protect only themselves. And monarchy was always more interested in helping those who benefitted them in return. He believed that a fair executor who would use his authority to stop humans from harming others is needed. His ideas were viewed radical at that time because state had less power and monarchy had all of it, it was times of war where weak people would get killed if they did not listen to wealthier class. His ideas in my opinion are like the base of foundation of classical liberalism as him and his peers were the some of the first people to research the “state of nature”” of people which made many of his successors want to do more for the cause.

The Enlightenment: Hobbes vs. Locke Two famous philosophers, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, have contributed to modern political science by expressing their views on human nature and the general laws that man had to follow. Both of their views differed in terms of how man should live his life. These views will be shown by comparing both philosophers’ opinions on the nature of man, and the various laws that constituted. Man was naturally evil, selfish, and living in a state of war, according to Hobbes. He believed that “humans were created “bad” by their creator”, and were “condemned to live in a world where bad things happen” (The Enlightenment, 1650-1789, p. 6).

When comparing the two different accounts of English philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke we must take into consideration a number of things such as the age in which they lived and the time in which they produced their philosophical writings. We will however find out that these two philosophers actually have a couple of things in which agree on even though most of their opinions clash. On one side we have Thomas Hobbes who lived in the time of the English Civil War (1642-1651) who provides a negative framework for his philosophical opinions in his masterpiece Leviathan and who advocates for philosophical absolutism . On the other side we have John Locke, living during the glorious revolution (1688-1689) he presents a positive attitude in his book The Second Treatise of Government and advocates for philosophical and biblical constitutionalism. It is important that we know that the state of nature describes a pre- political society prior to the social contract.

According to Hobbes, a sovereign, whether the sovereign was placed into power by violence or force, is the only way to secure law and order. For him, if a citizen obeys the sovereign for fear of punishment or in the fear of the state of nature, it is the choice of the citizen. According to Hobbes, this is not tyranny; it is his idea of a society that is successful, one that does not have room for democracy. As a realist, Hobbes has a fierce distrust of democracy and viewed all of mankind in a restless desire for power. If the people are given power, law and order would crumble in Hobbes’ eyes.