The State of Nature Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury - 1691 Words

In this essay, I will present three reasons as to why the absolute authority of the sovereign in Hobbes’s state of nature and social contract is justified. The three reasons Hobbes uses are: the argument from contract, the argument from authorisation and the argument from weakness of mixed or divided sovereignty. Firstly, I shall explain Hobbes’s understanding of human nature and the natural condition of humanity which causes the emergence of the social contract. I shall then analyse each argument for the absolute authority of the sovereign being justified. I shall then consider possible objections to Hobbes’s argument. I shall then show why Hobbes’s argument is successful and the absolute authority of the sovereign is justified. Hobbes†¦show more content†¦The sovereign is the most powerful being or body in the state. The social contact is the agreement between people that they will not kill each other and live in peace. Hobbes suggests for the social contract to have any meaning and to ensure that it is not broken requires the existence of the sovereign. This is because without the sovereign people’s distrust towards each other will cause them to break the contract. However, with the establishment of the sovereign, people will not break the contract because of the fear of being punished by the sovereign. The punishment will be greater than any benefit that the person would gain from breaking the contract. The sovereign therefore ensures that the contract is not broken (Hobbes 1839-45, 79). The sovereign and the social contract are therefore necessary and sufficient conditions for getting out of the State of Nature and moving to civil society. I shall now examine arguments for and objections to the view that the absolute authority of the sovereign is justified. Firstly, the social contract itself and the agreement for the existence of the sovereign justifies their absolute authority. The people by agreeing to the social contract are consenting to the sovereign existing and having absolute authority. Even though the people are consenting to the establishment of the sovereign out of fear, it remains a genuine consent as they have agreed to this. This is a necessary evil becauseShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Aristotle s The Leviathan Essay1586 Words   |  7 Pagesonce wrote in his novel Politics, â€Å"Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. Society is something that precedes the individual. 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