Political Science 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Thomas Hobbes, Systematic Chaos, Thought Experiment
1 Dec 2017
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States: human communities that claim a monopoly of legitimate violence within a specific territory. > hobbes did thought experiment-> life without states/poli power-> suggests that we have political institutions but not in our nature, political by convention. Worse scenario: no state protection-> any state is better than no state. Powerful state is needed to avoid disastrous interpersonal conflict. Thought humans were like machines, bodies in constant motion, reasoning is reckoning. Humans seek happiness, success and getting what you want, we are constantly wanting things. Power is one"s present means to obtain some future apparent good. Continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. Natural right of liberty: freedom to do whatever it takes we find it necessary to preserve ourselves-> includes the right to other people"s bodies (killing people for self defense) Laws of nature: practical rational rules, what to do to preserve ourselves, rules for rational self- preservation.
