Hobbes' view about mankind is based on the natural, primal nature of man. Hobbes constructs his reasoning by describing that liberty and freedom are conditions that allow man to use his power without restriction. Since physical strength and knowledge are not factors that truly differentiate men when it comes to death, men are essentially created equal. As a result, Hobbes states, "From this equality of ability, ariseth equality of hope in the attaining of our ends,"in order to stress where in fact conflict arises (83). The impossibility of the fulfillment of man's endless material desires is the inevitability of the perpetual state of "war of every man against every man" (85). Therefore 'natural greediness' is more superficial than both Hobbes and Machiavelli had foreseen. Greed is only a result of the mere existence of wants and needs that men believe can only be fulfilled by a material possession.
Thus, Hobbes states, in government-less society, "competition...diffidence...[and] glory" are the "principle causes of quarrel" surrounding man's greatest fear--death (83). Similar to milieu Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", Hobbes depicts a world built on "continual fear" where the "life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" lacking any conception of justice and injustice (84). The lack of even the understanding of justice is the exact reason why philosophers like Plato and Hobbes suggest the need for government. But the question lies, how is reason eluted in a universe built upon war and fear? Ironically, it is this fear itself that unconsciously yields reason for the collection safety and protection of men through the form of a polity. Men are united by their collective fear of their own death. This selfishness is coincidentally the cause for the mirage that is the 'altruism' of politics and society, necessary on the relinquishment of man's primal power.
No comments:
Post a Comment