Refuting Thomas Hobbes Essay - 1495 Words

In order for Hobbes to promote the necessity of a governing sovereign, it is paramount that he dismisses any objection against his argument. During his argument, Hobbes introduces a sceptic view of his third law of nature. If Hobbes is unable to dismiss this view, his third law of nature will not stand, and conversely his argument will fall. I argue that although Hobbes is unable to sufficiently dismiss the sceptics challenge in its entirety, Hobbes is able to defend his third law of nature, and therefore maintain the necessity of a governing sovereign. In order to prove this, I will first outline and elaborate the significance of Hobbes third law of nature. Then I will illustrate the challenge posed against Hobbes third law of†¦show more content†¦The fool suggests that sometimes there are cases when it is in ones best interest not to fulfil their end of a covenant. The fools scepticism challenges Hobbes to find an answer as to why it is always in ones best interest t o keep ones promises, namely, ones end of a covenant. The fools argument rest on the premise that ones actions should always benefit him, which entails that sometimes there are cases when it is rational to act against what Hobbes defines as a natural law, a natural law that is indispensable for Hobbes theory to move forward. In response to the fools challenge, Hobbes distinguishes and dismisses between four possible scenarios in which the fools argument is applicable. I will first distinguish the four scenarios, which I label as: (1), (2), (3), and (4), then I will outline how Hobbes dismisses each scenario. And finally, I will argue whether Hobbes is able to provide sufficient grounds to dismiss each scenario. The scenarios are: (1) acting first in the state of nature, (2) acting first in a governed society, (3) acting second in the state of nature, and (4) acting second in a governed society. Hobbes forfeits (1) to the fool because he agrees that it would not be rational to act first in the state of nature. There are no guarantees that the second party will not renege in the state of nature. Further,Show MoreRelatedThomas Hobbes And Nicholas Machiavelli Essay1481 Words   |  6 Pages Thomas Hobbes and Nicholas Machiavelli embarked on the journey to create. Although depicted as nasty realists, closer reading into Machiavelli and Hobbes reveal the aspirations of idealists. Idealists who dared to imagine a different world, a world wherein man is not depraved and fallen — but is rather able to create. In effect, these idealist exalted man’s abilities rather than man’s depravity and banishment from the garden of eden. 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