Thomas Hobbes
Job 41: Leviathan-
Presupposition- Since there is no God and man will not act rightly towards eachother we need to make a contract where men will do rightly by one another. Hobbes fails to make the move that behind creation there is a creator. If a beast can make us tremble imagine what the God who created the beast.
Born 1588- 1679: lived to 91 years old. 1588- year of the Spanish armada His father was a priest who was a gambler and struck another priest in the face. Spanish armada was coming to conquer England and reverse the reformation. Born 2 months early- Thomas means twins. “Me and fear”. Fear drives his politics. 1628- translated the Peloponnesian wars into English.
Thucydides – is there justice? How did the Athenians get away with injustices in the Peloponnesian wars if it is. The eventual decline of the empire is the reason. People have been slaughtered over the ideas of the philosophers. Hobbes is a main disciple of Thucydides and is seen as atheistic, not a member of the poets. Hobbes is promoting the Leviathan who promotes peace because he has all power. 1646- Hobbes became the tutor to Charles II. Paris.
Born prematurely out of fear, lived through a civil war. Goes on to say that the state of man is war against every man against every man. This is a result of reading Thucydides and experience through his own life. Every man for himself in times of crisis Humans under diress, stress and fear show their true selves…selfishness.
Prefers the Monarchy- not a benevolent monarchy. The Parliament revolts against the Kings authority and in 1645 Oliver Cromwell defeats the royalists and in 1646 Charles the 1 surrenders. 1st non-monarchical government in England Charles 1 beheaded by protestants Tudor of the next King Charles II The one right a monarch cannot take away from you is the right to self-preservation. Christianity submits to justice, the order of God.
1661- Charles the 2nd retakes throne
1663- Westminster Confession of faith written
Hobbes refers to the confession. Hobbes wrote on many things, well educated. Hobbes first social contract- Descartes and Bacon Atheistic materialist philosophy-1666- books were banned and burned) at Oxford. Amazing effect having the church rise up . The beast of Malmesbury.
Machiavelli and Hobbes- Social Contract- basic thought is simple. Since there is god than the servants are going to kill us. You want the people to believe in god so they will have a fear of justice. Hobbes embraces Machiavelli and shouts out the noble lie that there is a god. The Machiavellian theory rids authorities. Hobbes believes men sprouted up like mushrooms and begins higher criticism. Hobbes is the first of the higher critics. Attacks the scripture.
Total materialism- new anthropology What is man determines man’s purpose.? If you give a new anthropology and man is just a machine than virtue is lost and what it leads to is that society is not natural but fabricated. Man is one viscious animal against another.
Political match between Machiavelli and Hobbes- One of them Hobbes by indoctrination the masses with fear he wants a tyrant. Peace is artificial. Both woman are breaking up the mid evil synthesis. Machiavelli is destroying and discarding the soul. The lynchpin to ethics is the day of judgment. Societal ethics based on self preservation and there is no day of judgment. Machiavelli’s project is geared toward the prince. Hobbes wants a tyrant until he turns the sword you can run.
Politics- How can through our laws promote virtue so man can achieve his wholeness. Are we animals who’s natural state is war? How can we fulfill our goal of people trying to fulfill our virtue- Hobbes believes we are violent self slaying animals. Laws have nothing to do with morals its just self survival. The new interest is not justice but self preservation. They both promote a philosophy of fear for the masses.
The noble lie- the 3rd party Leviathan Everyone by social contract agrees to give all the power to the prince. The Prince is the one alone who is feared. Someone out there has the power to punish.
Anthropology- State of nature- one of the big lines
“Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short. “- Man’s life. If there is no resurrection than we can live as we please. If there was not the work of the holy spirit than I would argue this book to have been written by man. Who we are is going to determine how we live. Aristotle believes that man is a social or political creature. That means that the state of nature is to be in community. The household is the microcosm of the household, which is the family. Nature- man, woman produces children Bonds of nature.
State of the war against all against all – In the state of nature we are always in a state of war. State of nature isn’t the state we are in because our laws are artificial but in a real situation people become every man for himself. Fight for what little there is. (scarcity). Preparation for the Leviathan In the state of nature there is no right or wrong. Ethics has become situational. There is no right and wrong. There is no law without the power to enforce it.
No right and wrong, no property, no morality, no virtue or honor- no peace only fears Absence of love. Perpetual war. The dominant law in the state of nature is survival of the fittest. Seize what you can promise what you will. In the state of nature ones right is always self-preservation. The one right that I have since I exist is self-preservation. Man is all passion. Danger of the passions need to be joint together but man is all passion and reason cannot rule Appetitive and pleasures and pains). That’s the way you deal with people. Love is an appetite and attraction. Man is very simple and they are motivated with either pleasure or pain. Have them fear death. Man is all material and there is no paranormal. Man is all matter and his imagination is motion of matter and it is all mechanical. This is contrary to the platonic soul- the city is the soul writ large. Man is a beast strung up from the slime like mushrooms.
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