Thomas Hobbes Influence On Thomas Jefferson's Declaration Of Enlightenment

Hobbes and locke were two philosophers who two different ideas on the world and human behavior as a whole. Hobbes mainly believed that without any form of government people will always be trying to fight for power. On the other hand, Locke believed everyone is born peaceful but can be corrupted by society. Hobbes and Locke both had very different views on different human nature, the purpose of government, and both had a big influence on many different countries.

The historical development of the world from 1690 to 1830 wouldn’t be what it was if it weren’t for John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government. Locke’s Second Treatise not only sparked individualism, but also revolutions, and was a guide to the creations of declarations around the world. Two main revolutions and declarations that Locke’s ideas inspired were the American Revolution and the French Revolution.

Locke’s ideas from the Two Treatises of Government and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, were based upon the natural rights where power comes from the people. Both of his pieces contributed to revolutions, most importantly the American Revolution as power from monarchies was removed and democracies were created. Allowed for limited government power and all obligations were to the citizens. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding basis was on how the knowledge existence of God, certain moral truths, and laws of logic or mathematics pertained to the natural rights of

It is understood that John Locke played a key role of influence on Thomas Jefferson. This influence can be seen through Jefferson’s writing on the nation’s founding document. This document is called the Declaration of Independence. John Locke, the English Enlightenment philosopher wrote his Two Treatises of Government to refute the belief that kings ruled by divine right and to support the Glorious Revolution of 1688 (Doc 1). This piece of political philosophy provided many explanations for the people’s rights and obligations to overthrow a corrupt government.

Hobbes believed that natural state of humans was violent and therefore needed order and control to ensure a just and equal society (Robinson 2016, 4). However Hobbes believed that a sovereign could maintain power without deceit and manipulation. Hobbes believed in the social contract which is when people could have a moral understanding about right and wrong to avoid the chaotic violent human nature. Hobbes believed in the idea of utilitarianism which would “maximize the most good and minimize the pain” (Robinson 201, 4). This would ensure that the sovereign was doing things for the right reasons and not to better himself but to better society as a

The Declaration of Independence and the colonists were influenced by many philosophers in multiple ways. The king also influenced the colonists yet he didn’t have any speech close to speak the mind of the colonists such as the philosophers did. The words that were presented on paper from just a person’s thoughts sent a lot of messages in the 1700’s. Multiple of these thoughts on paper mostly had an effect on opinions. Thomas Hobbes, a philosopher known for his original perspective on the world, was one of the few who impacted the colonists.

The Enlightenment was critical in many aspects of the colonial America way of life, which commonly affected the politics, government and religion. Without these principles of understanding and the new way of thinking, the United States would have drastically been different since those ideas shaped the country in its infant years. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution was overwhelmingly influenced by The Enlightenment both during and after the American Revolution. Many different concepts came from this new governmental structure such as, freedom of oppression and natural rights. These concepts were influenced by Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke and Isaac Newton where they helped set a clear path for colonial and present America to follow.

According to him, using violence is a part of the nature of the people; and it could be used for various reasons or for various gains . Since safety does not exist for anyone, the natural state of the people needs an adjustment to establish it. This adjustment proposed by Hobbes is gathering all the power in one man who can establish common peace . This is a contract between the people and the sovereign and it enables the sovereign to merge his body with the body sovereignty. This model legitimizes the power of the sovereign without including the god’s will into the equation but by simply defending such power is the source of establishing peace.

Giuliano Pisarski N0511199 Assess Hobbes’ arguments in favour of absolute sovereign power. Thomas Hobbes is well known to be in favour of absolutism and has always clearly stated in his works such as Leviathan that the the sovereign of a nation, kingdom or principality has the right of absolute power and rule over it. Hobbes was born in Westport, England, on April 5, 1588 and raised from a young age by his uncle, as his father a disgraced vicar who ran away from his family. His uncle provided Hobbes with education and from a young age he excelled as a student of classical languages and at 14 he went to Magdalen Hall in Oxford to study.

Hobbes felt that in order for the sovereign to be successful, they must have complete control of all information disseminated amongst the public. Religion and religious figures would have the ability to undermine

He developed ideas of empiricism, liberalism, and classical republicanism which justified mankind’s move toward self-rule. These ideas may sound very familiar because most of his ideas were adopted into the declaration of independence. John Locke’s ideas became the foundation of many political systems and gave millions of people

Hobbes was an English philosopher, known through out the world as the author of “Leviathan” which is regarded as one of the earliest examples of the social contract theory. His writings were greatly influenced by the

The theory that Hobbes suggests that a dictator who governs their society with fear is ideal in achieving peace and that theory is well established in the conflicts that are happening in the Middle East. Iraq which was once a stable country governed by Saddam Hussein is now a free for all. Saddam Hussein imposed force, and intimidation in the masses that held down all the religious hatred that everyone had for one another. He kept everyone calm by using fear which proves Hobbes philosophy when he says that. Some have been calling Iraq and Syria “Hobbes jungle” because we have proof that once government have been removed life would be a constant war and with the death of Saddam Hussein, war is spewing from all corners of Iraq.

Hobbes believed that the best form of government was a monarchy, rather than a democracy. Hobbes says that if people were allowed to vote for who lead them, they would be selfish because they would pick someone who is better for them. What one person thinks is best for them, might not be best for their country and for its citizens so a group who would be bad for the country might be elected. For this reason Hobbes thinks a monarchy is better because people can not pick a horrible leader in general but good for them. The ruler of the monarch will be picked by professionals who know who can benefit everyone.

Hobbes made great advancements in political philosophy and made contributions to the development of the Anti-Aristotelian concept of science. Hobbes’ political philosophy influenced John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Immanuel Kent. Thomas Hobbes is considered one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes also contributed to advances in history, geometry, the physics of gases, theology, and ethics. Hobbes developed key ideas we still use today including the fundamentals of European liberal thought, the right of the individual, the natural equality of all men, the arterial character of the political order, the view that all legitimate political powers must be “representative” and based on the consent of the people, and the liberal interpretation of the law.