Political Philosophy Essay Political Philosophy Essays

1. Political Philosophy Essay
Political Philosophy
Part One (Question 2)
Aristotle, Locke, and Hobbes all place a great deal of importance on the state of nature and how it
relates to the origin of political bodies. Each one, however, has a different conception of what a
natural state is, and ultimately, this leads to a differentconception of what a government should be,
based on this natural state. Aristotle's feelings on the natural state of man is much different than that
of modern philosophers and leads to a construction of government in and of itself; government for
Hobbes and Locke is a departure from the natural state of man.
Aristotle's emphasis is on the city–state, or the political world as a natural occurrence. He says
"every city–state exists...show more content...
For a city–state to be made up, it must be composed of citizens, those individuals with the ability to
reason, and for Aristotle, this city–state is a natural occurrence.
Hobbes and Locke both have very different conceptions of the natural world. Hobbes conceives of
a natural world in which the state is that of war. He talks about the lack of trust in the fellow
subjects, and the manner in which men lock their doors and feel "continual fear, and danger of
violent death; and the life of the man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." (Hobbes 171). The
idea of the life of a man as being solitary, nasty, and brutish greatly conflicts with the idea that
Aristotle has set forth with man being naturally bound together to achieve the good of happiness.
Aristotle constructs a state in which men naturally work together to create happiness for all,
whereas Hobbes believes that the natural state of man tends away from this, toward greed and
war. Locke is similar to Hobbes in that his conception of nature is a more isolated one, but it's a
less blunt view of the trust of mankind. The "state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which
obliges everyone... no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions." (Locke
313). For Locke, the natural state is the idea of self–preservation, but also the preservation of all of
mankind. It is not acceptable for Locke, as it is for Hobbes, to allow the
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2. Political Philosophy Essays
Every country in the world has a government that sets laws to keep order and peace. Not every
government can be just in its ruling, but what defines a just ruling? And does anyone truly have the
right to control others? Throughout time different types of governments have been established. As
history progressed most governments were overthrown because of the laws that were imposed.
Emperors and Kings changed to Presidents and Prime Ministers. This was caused by revolutions
because the people did not like the way they were being ruled. But should people be ruled in the
first place? Who should have the right to do such a thing? Today, the most powerful countries are
run by democracy. But what is its purpose? It...show more content...
Francois– Marie de Voltaire was born in Paris to a wealthy family in 1694. He lived during the
time of the enlightenment, which was a period of new thinking using critical reason to free minds
from prejudice and unexamined authority. Later on in his life, Voltaire was a prisoner in the Bastille
and then exiled to England because of a duel with Chevalier de Rohan, an Aristocrat who found
Voltaire's name insulting. Throughout his life he has written both plays and books such as Zaire,
Treatise on Tolerance and Dictionnaire Philosophique (Gray, 13).
Voltaire believes that Law is a rational guide in an irrational world. This means that the purpose
of laws is to give the citizens a certain duty that must be fulfilled in order for society to function
properly. If this is to successfully work through laws then everything else should run by laws
including the Crown and Church that have very important duties. The entire state should be run on
duties that everyone must fairly fulfill. Therefore the state exists for the citizen (Gray, 45). The
duties are created to make things safer for the citizens. It is the obligation of the state to create
these proper laws and give them to the people for their own good. The state is to provide for the
citizen and not the other way around. This is why Voltaire says, " The character of liberty lies in
independence,
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