POLI 107 1st Edition Lecture 9Modern Political Theory: HobbesBackdrop for Leviathan:- Leviathan was written during the English Civil War (1642-1651)- Fought between monarchists and those who wanted to expand the powers of Parliament- For a short period, England was governed as a Commonwealth, led by Oliver Cromwell, a puritanical revolutionary leader- Hobbes’ aim in writing Leviathan:o Legitimize absolute monarchyHobbes’ System of Thought:- Based upon scientific method popular in 17th century- Driven by deduction and logic rather than empirical observations- Start with simple questions and then build only on what has been proveno Known as syllogism - Example:o Claim 1: All people eventually die.o Claim 2: Socrates is a persono Therefore, Socrates, being a person, will eventually die. Start by analyzing the correctness of the first two principle claims The conclusion is valid because the first two claims that derive the conclusion are valid Technique is deductive rather than empirical; make bad assumptions, the theory collapsesHobbes’ Materialism:- Wanted to account for all phenomena in the natural world including human behavior- Unifying theory of all observable events, not simply a theory of politics- Hobbes’ science of politics grounded in materialism: the physical world is a mechanical system that operates according to geometrical precision- Like a game of pool, the order of the universe reflects the arrangement of billiard balls; change occurs due to their movement- To understand human behavior and politics, one needs to uncover the forces behind human movement and actionUnderstanding Human Behavior:- Understanding behavior begins with the motions of ‘bodies’ which in turn generate sensations- Two basic typeso Desireo Aversion- People ‘move’ on the basis of these feelings: desire makes us move to the things we want- From desire and aversion, Hobbes explains more complex human emotions and behavior,such as love/hate, happiness/sadness, hope/despair and good/bado Fundamentally a psychological theoryLaw of Self-Preservation:- The body is instinctively programmed to preserve itself- Thus, self-preservation is a natural law that exists prior to social interaction- All humans are subject to this instinctual compulsion- The survival instinct is universal, pervasive, and never-ending- Self-preservation is the highest moral goodHobbes’ Egoism:- The body also compels us to pursue our self-interests = egoism- Hobbes’ novelty: he arrives at egoism through materialism rather than common sense (like Machiavelli)- Egoism shapes social interactions because all humans seek to preserve themselves and acquire the things they want- Creates a competitive, dangerous social environment: we must constantly secure ourselves against harm and death- Chief means to this end? POWER- The pursuit of power is all-consuming, which limits what we can do with our time and abilities- State of nature: humans are constantly at odds against each other o Life is ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short’- People are roughly equal to each other physically and mentally = difficult to achieve order amidst the chaos- Relative equality promotes warlike competition for things we want, including survival- No moral order can resolve this competition or the threats we faceo We are each authors of our own moral systemsHobbes’ State of Nature:- War is the dominant state of social relations in natureo It is our only rational option- The state of war is not a constant state of fightingo The state of war entails the mere threat of violence and bodily harm- The state of war makes the state of nature sub-optimal- Intense competition lowers the baro We must use our higher faculties to survive rather than better our lives- We exchange a higher quality of life for continuous fear and the ‘danger of violent death’Tragedy of the Human Condition:- In the state of nature, we tend to overlook what we lose by competing with each other andbecome comfortable with dissociative behavioro People can’t imagine the world being any other way…A Way Out?- Human nature is characterized by both desire and reason- Reason helps to regulate our actions and find better ways to obtain the things we desire- Reason shows us that self-preservation is best and most efficiently achieves under conditions of peace, which can only be ensured by civil society- Entering civil societyLaw of Nature & Peace:- Laws of nature convey what a reasonable person would do if he or she considered relations with others impartially with an eye toward their own security- The laws of nature promote peace as the optimal condition for survival Peace and Freedom:- Peace requires mutual confidence in each other, but our absolute freedom in the state of nature makes this unlikely- People must realize this and voluntarily surrender their absolute freedom so that everyonemay feel safe- As we enter into civil society, reason makes self-restraint possible but there is still room for disagreement about the limits of individual behavior- Hobbes expresses a rather dim view of human tendencies: passions tend to overwhelm reason- As a result, we are likely to struggle with interpreting the laws of nature free from bias- Even as we recognize the value of civil society, it remains difficult to trust each other- To make things work, there must be a significant transfer of power to the state from the individual Leviathan:- When people cannot trust each other, the solution is to take the power to decide outcomesaway from them and give it to the Leviathan, who also has the power to enforce and coerce- A social contract transfers power to the Leviathan- Life under Leviathan represents a qualitative improvement from the state of nature - We may surrender a great deal of freedom to govern our affairs but we gain greater opportunities to pursue our interests that do not conflict with others- Any social contract is useless without the capacity to punish those who transgress:o ‘Covenants, without the sword, are but words and of no strength to secure a man at all…’- Fear of punishment makes men sociable and obedient- The power to coerce is held by the Leviathan exclusively- The contract is broken when the Leviathan can no longer enforce its will and secure peace- The Leviathan is an artificial entity comprised of individual willso It is a mortal God, whose power cannot be questioned- Leviathan can represent any form of governmento Any