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Philosophy 121

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Jillian Wheeler-Spence Philosophy 121 Essay 2 10/04/2012

In this paper I am going to be discussing the differences in Hobbes and Locke’s theory of the state of nature. One of the major differences is that Hobbes was a rationalist. His theory of the state of nature is really the starting point for a legal system. What Hobbes talked about was the time before government. He believed that by nature human beings were passionate and reasonable. That by nature we are all capable of taking care of ourselves. To Hobbes there was no such thing as justice. Everyone has the right to defend themselves. In my opinion he believed in the theory of due unto others as you would have done unto you. So for example if you didn’t want someone to steal from you, you shouldn’t steal from them. If someone did threaten you in anyway, then you were able to defend yourself by any means necessary. Hobbes believed that if there were no rules in place at all that everyone would just kill each other. So there needed to be some sort of government to help enforce those rules. He just wasn’t sure how to go about getting that government set up. He thought that a government should in place basically to help us keep our promises to each other. A government wouldn’t really had out punishment but just enforce the rules that we had already set. Those rules I believe were set by each individual. What I might think is the right thing to do, may not be the right thing for someone else. It depends I think on how you are raised and what you morals are. Therefore it was hard to enforce rules that are different for everybody. Locke was nicknamed “the father of empiricism”. His theory on the state of nature has three forms. A state in which there is no government. A time when there is a partial government. Lastly the there was an illegitimate government. Locke

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