03 Hobbes and the Social Contract Free Online FlashCards

What is Hobbes’s state of nature?

A condition without a common government capable of making and enforcing laws.

Why are people roughly equal in Hobbes’s state of nature?

People are roughly equal in their ability to threaten one another, since even a weaker person may use cooperation, strategy, or surprise to kill a stronger one.

What does Hobbes mean by a “state of war”?

It is a continuing condition of insecurity in which people lack reliable assurance that others will keep the peace, not necessarily constant fighting.

What can fuel fear and conflict in the state of nature?

Scarce goods, distrust, and the pursuit of status give people reason to fear one another and can make peaceful cooperation fragile.

What is Hobbes’s first law of nature?

The first law of nature is to seek peace when peace is attainable.

What does Hobbes’s second law of nature advise?

When others are willing too, people should be willing to give up their unrestricted liberty to do whatever they judge necessary for survival.

Why can promises alone fail to secure peace?

Agreements are insecure when no power can deter people from breaking them.

How do individuals establish political authority in Hobbes’s theory?

Individuals covenant with one another to authorize a common power to act on their behalf and make decisions for the political community.

Who makes the covenant that establishes the sovereign?

The covenant is among the people; the sovereign is authorized by it rather than being a party who promises particular terms to the subjects.

What is the sovereign in Hobbes’s account?

A sovereign is the person or assembly authorized to make decisions for the political community; this authorization forms a commonwealth.

What forms can Hobbes’s sovereign take?

The sovereign may be either a monarch or an assembly; Hobbes’s central concern is whether there is a final authority able to maintain peace.

Why does Hobbes favor undivided sovereignty?

Hobbes argues for undivided, effectively absolute sovereignty because competing final authorities risk paralysis or renewed conflict.