Political Science and International Relations

"How would I and my fellow human beings behave if we were to find ourselves in a state of nature, and what does this behavior tell us about innate predispositions?" (Thomas Hobbes) UPSC 2016 Paper 1A Qn 1a Thomas Hobbes’ question about human behavior in the "state of nature" lies at the heart of his political philosophy, particularly as outlined in Leviathan (1651). The "state of nature" represents a hypothetical pre-political condition where there is no government, law, or overarching authority to regulate human actions.  Hobbes's view of human nature is grounded in his observations of self-interest and the drive for self-preservation . Hobbes’ View of Human Behavior in the State of Nature : The behavior Hobbes attributes to humans in the state of nature underscores the necessity of a social contract. To escape the anarchy of the state of nature, individuals must collectively agree to surrender certain freedoms to a sovereign authority (the Levi...

Qn. Individualism is inherent in Hobbes' absolutist ideology. Comment. According to Hobbes, individuals were creatures of desire, seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. Hobbes views individuals as  self-interested   rational  actors who enter into a social contract to secure their individual rights and protect themselves from the  state of nature . He underlines the  utilitarian  psychology of human beings behind accepting  absolute sovereign  as the precondition for the enjoyment of  individual liberty . According to Hobbes, life is the prerequisite for felicity , a state of continual prosperity. Since the ultimate object of people's will is felicity, an individual would have no choice but to contract out of the state of nature into civil society, for, their life is at least potentially pleasurable. People contract to "seek peace" to  avoid the pain of war , for, it enhanced the possibilities of preserving ourselves. State and Sovereign is...

  Qn. Discuss the Hobbesian notion of Political Obligation. Thomas Hobbes, a 17th-century political philosopher, presented a distinctive perspective on political obligation . According to Hobbes, individuals enter into a social contract, surrendering certain freedoms to a sovereign authority in exchange for protection and order . This creates a binding obligation on citizens to obey the sovereign's commands. Government is chosen by the will of people. So, the political obligation to obey the government itself is derived from the will of people. An absolute sovereign must be obeyed. The basis of the longterm stability of any government is the obligation its people feel to obey its laws. The Governmental absolutism logically follows from the desire for security. To have a right to something means simply to have the power to attain it. Unless all powers or rights are turned over, there can exist no common sovereign will by which to unite people who otherwise would remain in a state o...

  Qn. Comment on State of Nature as State of War. Hobbes' theory of human nature is revolutionary in character, which is developed by applying the first principles of Galilean physics to human behaviour i.e., the body and motion that governs the rest of the Universe. He abolishes the Socratic, or classical conception of freedom, a conception which is based upon the assumption of human choices. By observing human beings in the state of nature, Hobbes employs the resolutive-compositive method . Compositive method, to demonstrate that voluntary motions are ceaseless and people's quest for pleasure is insatiable, and that, as a consequence, human beings are innately self-interested power seekers. Resolutive method, to deduce the from the effects of people's behaviour their innate thirst for power, the ceaseless motion of the passions, and the underlying first principles of body and mind. In the state-of-nature , Desire and Aversion are the root cause of conflict. Everybody is ...