Paper Topic:

philosophy

John Locke vs . Thomas Hobbes

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Metaphysics can be seen as a study of our existence , of explaining our world in a way that makes sense to us

Thomas Hobbes ' ideas about the human existence are fairly stark : He argues that

We will compete violently compete , to secure the basic necessities of life and perhaps to make other material gains

He argues that we will challenge other and fight out of fear so as to ensure our personal safety

He believes we

will seek reputation (glory ) both for its own sake and for its protective effects (so others will be afraid to challenge us (Hobbes 2005

Hobbes believes that we all have within ourselves the capacity to act violently , to

be selfish , to have few notable scruples or ethics . His theory is that outside of civil society , we have the right to do anything and everything we believe will ensure our own self-preservation , and the worst thing that could happen to any human being would be violent death at the hands of another , therefore we have the right to judge what will enable us to prevail (Hobbes 2005 . The fly in this ointment is that if each individual in the world felt the way Hobbes seemed to , the world could find itself in chaos in a very short time . Hobbes didn 't go so deeply into the mechanics of human existence as did Locke . He felt that we exist , that is obvious , and we as human beings need to fill our lives with figuring out how to stay alive

Locke , on the other hand was much kinder about the human existence . He writes in Essay that

As for our own existence , we perceive it so plainly and so certainly that it neither needs nor is capable of any proof . For nothing can be more evident to us than our own existence . I think , I reason , I feel pleasure and pain can any of these be more evident to me than my own existence If I doubt of all other things , that very doubt makes me perceive my own existence , and will not suffer me to doubt of that . For if I know I feel pain , it is evident I have as certain perception of my own existence , as of the pain I feel of if I know doubt , I have ascertain perception of the existence of the thing doubting , as of that thought which I call doubt (Locke 2005

Locke forgot to point out that the self can be an idea thus belonging to knowledge , and an idea of the self can 't come from sensation (Locke 2005 . He basically says that we as human beings can feel pain therefore we know we exist . Locke 's proof of God 's existence ' comes on the heels his theory of our belief in our own existence . If we believe we exist , then certainly the belief in the existence of God follows closely . Locke refuses to pit...

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