GVPT241 Lecture 4/1/14Political Philosophy for Dark TimesThomas Hobbes, 1588-1679Leviathan-Published 1651, Revised 1668, and Burned 1683- Parliamentary forces: wanted to establish a republic- Fought against royalist forces: believed political authority was from the divine right of kings- Authority does not necessarily come from God, isn’t from divine right- Insult- To call someone a Hobbist, meant that you were an offender of authoritarian government (Atheist)- Went to Oxford and finished at age 18- Was a house tutor- Taught the children- Was an intellectual advisor to the adults- Was among the first to run away to ParisArgued that primary cause of this war was the spreading of false doctrinesHobbes’ Thesis- State of Nature (SN): “A time when men live together without a common power to keep them all in awe.”- State of War (SW): “A time of war of every man against every man…not constant battle, but a known disposition thereto.”- State of war, violent death and conflict is a possibility- Thesis: State of Nature = State of War- Hobbes’ 5 premises- What motivates humans? The desire for powero There is never a state when a human is satisfied with the amount of power they have, they always want moreo The only thing that stops this endless desire for power is death- We are roughly equalo We are all capable of killing each othero Our intelligence—you may not be as intelligent as Einstein, but both are adept at figuring out rational means - Fact of the world-scarcityo There isn’t enough for how much we want, we can’t share- Hobbes thinks that people really delight in dominating otherso Some people is enough to warn being distrustful of others in general- Some of us are just anti-socialo We continuously make projects to obtain more power and do not socializeThe Psychological Argument (Problem: Self-Interest)- Critics say that self-interest is not an assumption you can get away with because there may be evidence about that assumption- Humans strive for power after power and are never satisfied- People strive for equality, but rough equality- Compete for scarce goods-The Alternative Argument: Game Theory (Problem: Obligation)- Deep insight to certain formal properties and interaction- The structure of the problemPrisoners DilemmaCooperate Don’tCooperate Obey Sovereign Death/DominanceDon’t Dominance/Death State of WarThe Problem of ObligationArrange the steps into a social contractDeriving from the social contract—certain features of what life under the leviathan looks like5 Key Concepts- Right of Nature (xiv. 1,4)- Right of nature is the liberty each man had to use his own power as hewill himself for the preservation of his own nature- Right you have to preserve your life including anything that your reason and judgment tells you is conducive in preserving your life- Every man has a right to every thing, even another’s body- Liberty- The absence of external impediments (natural disease, mountains)o Interference by other people which diminishes your liberty- Republican: no one has the capacity to interfere with your behavior- Hobbes: as long as no one is interfering with you, you’re free- The Fundamental Law of Nature- General rule found out by reason by which a man is forbidden to do that which is destructive of his life or takes away his means of preserving his life - The most fundamental: every man ought to endeavor peace as far as he hope of obtaining it; when he cannot obtain it, he may seek and useall hopes and advantages of war- First clause: fundamental of nature- to seek peace and follow it- Second clause: the right of nature by all means we can to defend ourselves- The Derivative Laws of Nature- You will only be able to do this as long as others are willing to do it - If you disarm yourself, you risk being taken advantage of - Only be willing to do it as long as you know that others are willing-- Contracts vs. Covenants- Set up a covenant (agreement) that I will put down my sword if you do also- Following agreements we’ve made is - Justice is to perform the covenants that have been made- Covenant is a special kind of contract because the exchange is stretched out over timeDiscussionOne or more parties bound by future obligations only valid if there is a common power that is able to enforce it1. agreement2. enforceable agreementAtheist?Wanted to write without making others madSocial ContractState of Nature- Everyone has the right to everything—bad for him- He hates state of nature - Offers an escape through a social contract: agreed upon covenant that people make between each other- Make the agreement so that we can get out of the state of nature- Any government that is agreed upon by the consent of the people is greater than the state of natureState of nature = state of war because there is a threat of constant warNatural Right: before there is government or a social contract—everyone has a rightto everythingNatural Laws (derivative of natural laws)1. Everyone should seek peace2. Everyone has the ability to defend themselvesLecture 4/8The sovereign is not obligated to usHow to enforce a convenant:- Common Political authority- How is it set up?Creating the Leviathan- Fundamentals- Natural vs. Artificial Personso Natural person: a human being, yourself, the instructor, etc. A person is he whose word and actions are considered either his own or is representing the word or actions of another man;o Artificial person: someone who’s acts and words are not their own, but those of something else If in court, the prosecutor represents either the state or the people; if defense, you are representing the defendant- Authors vs. Actorso Actors: Actions are those of things you represent Don’t always own their actions Actions owned by those who authorized the actiono Author owns the action that an artificial person carries out on their behalf- Authors are bound by covenants; actors are not- The Great Covenant (ch. 17)- A multiple of natural persons represented by one artificial person We authorize an artificial person to represent us We are the authors, and the representative is the actor We authorize any actions necessary whatsoever to the end of getting us out of trouble When the actor acts to end the state of war by establishing political order, the actor does so in our name- The multitude of natural persons are authors; the artificial person is the actor- The artificial person is the sovereigno Rely on an actor in order to