Hobbes and Hume (Week 2 Post Class Blog)


Justice in Hobbes’s view is a creation of the state and does not exist in the state of nature. He does not believe that justice is unimportant. “that man perform their covenants made:  without which covenants are in vain, and but empty words. (Hobbes, pg. 113)” Covenants are therefore a base for all justice and it is the sovereign’s principal authority to enforce this justice. This assertion has provided a thought provoking look into the origins of justice.

While Hobbes makes a compelling argument that the social contract brings about justice in society, I believe that David Hume made notable improvements to this idea. Sam Seitz insightfully explains that Hume took Hobbes’s state of nature and created a more utilitarian approach which considers cultural norms and conventions (Seitz). According to Seitz, Hume sees justice as rooted in the most advantageous action to society. Reason can be used to derive what is most advantageous, but justice ultimately sides with utility over Hobbes’s ill-defined contracts.

Hume is essentially taking Hobbes’s view to a different level. Instead of men being driven to social contract from fear and desires for self-preservation, they are driven by maximizing potential. Certainly, self-preservation is a vital part, but not the whole.  This also allows culture and norms to enter the equation. Men develop norms and conventions to reach consensus on right and wrong. This process being a precursor to social contracts. It is here, even before social contracts are made, that justice begins to take form.

Hume is still considered a naturalist. His moral relativism sees mankind without judgement. In this world, right and wrong are created out of the desire to advance, produce, live, and live well. Hume also states that we are driven by a desire to be seen well in the eyes of others (Seitz). Something absent in Hobbes’s analysis of human behavior.
Works Cited
Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Ch. 15, “Of the Laws of Nature,” Touchstone (New York: 1997)
Seitz, Sam. Conceptions of Justice in Hume, Rousseau, and Kant. https://politicstheorypractice.wordpress.com/2016/11/27/conceptions-of-justice-in-hume-rousseau-and-kant/ (Accessed 5 May 2018)

Comments

  1. EHMay 17, 2018 at 8:04 PM

    Great tie-in with Hume! Do you think the arguement could be made that part of maximizing your potential is improving characteristics/career/etc that contribute to your self-preservation?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousMay 18, 2018 at 6:10 PM

      Certainly! This takes it to an individualistic level focusing on the smallest unit or the person. I think that we also will survey our environment to seek to attain the most desirable characteristics/ careers. Hume also states that what other's think of us is an important factor in how and why we act.

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