Leviathan Ch. 17, 18, 21

(Originally written February 6, 2006 in Book 21)

Human liberation (Bruno) or alienation (Pascal) in the face of an infinite and indifferent universe.

Pascal gave a, "oh my God, please save me" existentialist point of view on being alienated in the universe.

New demand for metaphysical inquiry came out of the Scientific Revolution. "Were all our religious beliefs just mere vain attempts of explaining particulars of the universe we were not capable of scientifically comprehending?"

Hobbes: British Philosopher (1583-1679) who branched into every field of philosophy.

Key features of his philosophy:
1) Systematic
2) Materialistic or naturalistic with a lip service to God
3) Determinist
4) Atomist (universe made of atoms)
5) Empiricist
6) Moral subjectivist
7) Social Contract Theorist

Leviathan (Hobbes' greatest work)
- Serves as an apologetic for monarchy
- Accused of pandering to the powers that be

Leviathan is political philosophy without purpose to:
- Rationally defend political authority
- Representative theory of Government
- Social Contract
- Bourgeois political theory

Ch. 13

- All people are equal
- Equality brings diffidence (timidity, shyness)
- Equal ability leads to equality of hope in attaining our ends. Since we desire the same things we become enemies
- Enmity results in a condition of war

Man's state of nature is:
1) Equality of man
2) Equality brings diffidence
3) Condition of War

Hobbes: Leviathan Ch. 17

The laws of nature generally entail justice, equity, modesty, mercy and doing uno others as we want done to us.

These laws are contrary to our natural passions and would be consistently broken if there was no terror inspiring institution to punish those who break these laws and those who break their covenants.

Without a government man is right to disregard the laws of nature in view of his self preservation.

Without this government families lived by honor alone and this was honor in stealing from other families as long as the thieves left the other men their lives and their "instruments of husbandry". Cities are large families and will war with one another to serve themselves.

Man cannot work as bases for the betterment of the society for a number of reasons:
1. Men are continually in competition for honor and dignity which causes envy, hatred and finally war.
2) Man's joy consist with comparing himself to another and his interests of the common good differ from that of his own personal ones
3) Men think themselves wiser than all others and therefore best to govern the public and causes civil war
4) Men are capable of words which leads to the diminishing of the apparent greatness of good and evil which troubles the peace
5) Man, when he is at ease, attempts to spread his version of wisdom and causes a clash with other men at ease, which leads to war
6) Man's agreement with each other is not natural; it comes by covenant.

The way to erect an institution to keep man from being in perpetual war is to confer all their power on one man or on a body of men that reduces all of men's will into will.

The commonwealth is this forgoing of one's will to the common will.

By way of terror of punishment, the commonwealth can enforce the will of men to be in peace.

The commonwealth is sovereign and all the people are subject to that commonwealth.

Sovereignty is gained three ways:
1) Naturally by passing it along through generations
2) Through subduing of war
3) The election of man to be, or the men to be the governing class of the commonwealth.

Chapter 18: Of the rights of sovereigns by institution

The people institute the sovereignty of this type of commonwealth they are subjected by their voting (whether or not they voted for the winner is of no consequence)

Rebellion is unjust because the sovereign has the right to impose will.

The sovereign does not make covenants, men make covenants with other men to make him sovereign. Rebellion is breaking covenant with those other subject to the sovereign.

Rebels have to deal with those loyal to the sovereign. When one rebels against the sovereign he is no longer protected and any man who is not rebellious is just in destroying the rebel.

The sovereign cannot be accused of injustice by the subject because he has the authority of sovereignty and therefore acts on behalf of the subjects. (Sovereigns can sin though).

The sovereign cannot be punished.

The goal of the sovereign is peace and defense of the subjects, therefore the sovereign has the right to any man's necessary to reach this goal.

The sovereign must govern opinions because opinions precede actions. Warlike opinions must be squashed before they become warlike actions.

The sovereign must institute laws to stop men from having the right to possess all things, which causes war.

The sovereign is the judge of all controversies or law to ensure peace.

The sovereign has the right to make war and peace with other sovereignties, in light of the peace and defense of his subjects.

The sovereign is to appoint who he chooses as counselors, ministers, magistrates, generals and other officials (also to depose them).

The sovereign bestows rights and honor on whose he sees fit and punishes whom he deems necessary.

Chapter 21 Of liberty of subjects

Liberty is the absence of opposition

A freeman is someone who is free to do his will

Fear does not impose liberty, a man choose to do something out of fear because he has the liberty to do it.

All man's will is derived from God's will. Anything a man does on his own will comes from the liberty of God for man to do it.

Laws cannot protect liberty, only "swords in the hands" of those who make laws can protect liberty.

"Every subject is the author of every act the sovereign doth" (Pojman, 562). The sovereign cannot do any injustice to the subject because then the subject would be doing it to himself, which would break a natural law.

Every commonwealth has an absolute liberty to do as it pleases

A subject has the liberty to disobey a sovereign when:
1) The Sovereign commands the subject to harm himself
2) To abstain from confessing a crime whoosh would cause himself harm

Avoidance of battle is not injustice, it is cowardice.

No subject has the liberty to defend another subject from the sovereign.

A man has the librety attempt to escape from imprisonment.