BF190 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Human Nature, Rationality, Cardinal Virtues
Document Summary
Contract (obligated by covenant and threat of power) Danger to human nature (sel sh and aggressive) Danger of human nature (lazy and cowardly) Key points: hobbes was writing in a time of turmoil. His intention was to create a state that was stable and capable of containing inevitable con ict (stability and security: hobbes was both a radical and a conservative. Leviathan offered a middle ground between parliamentarians and royalists (defended monarchy, but the monarchy had to be chosen: leviathan was to be given absolute authority. Equal fear of death is what convinces people to hand over rights. Once rights are handed over there is no going back: leviathan is needed to protect contracts and covenants between citizens (law) Only threat of punishment can be counted on. Like machiavelli, hobbes is interested in survival and describing the condition that can lead to survival ( the right of nature which leads to war of all against all)
