Thomas Hobbes, the 17th cen english philosopher, believed that people living without a state machinery to control them will create a ''state of nature'' where their natural instincts towards self-preservation will make all of their lives ''nasty,brutish and short''. In his monumental work ''Leviathan'' Hobbes described this over-arching instinct as 'felicity', this involved a continous achievement of successes. Hobbes further claimed that as this world is one of limited resources, the unsatiable appetite for success of the individual will inevitably lead to a state of poverty. Coupled with his belief that all people are imbued with relatively equal abilities and strengths, the state of nature will be one of continous struggle of man vs. man. For this reason Hobbes concluded that people need to be governed by a strong authoritarian state to control their urges. Is this true is man in possesion of this Feilicity?
2006-08-07
14:05:35
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3 answers
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asked by
BlissfulIgnorance
2
in
Psychology