Thomas Hobbes Analysis Essay Example For Students

Thomas Hobbes Analysis Essay Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher who was lived from 1588-1679. He attended Oxford University where he studied classics. His occupation was a tutor, but he also traveled around Europe to meet with scientists and to study different forms of government. He became interested in why people allowed themselves to be ruled, and what would be the best form of government for England. Thomas Hobbes was the first great figure in modern moral philosophy. Hobbes had a pessimistic view of people; he believed humans were selfish creatures who would do anything to better their positions. He also thought that people could not be trusted to make decisions on their own, and a country needed an authority figure to provide direction and leadership. Therefore, Hobbes believed in an absolute monarchy a government that gave all power to a king or queen. He also thought that people should obey their king, even if he is a tyrant. He said that because people were only interested in promoting their own self-interests, democracy would never work. In fact, he thought democracy was very dangerous. But even though he distrusted democracy, he believed that a diverse group of representatives presenting the problems of the common person would prevent a king from being unfair and cruel. Hobbes coined the phrase, Voice of the people, meaning one person could be chosen to represent a group with similar views. We will write a custom essay on Thomas Hobbes Analysis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now In 1651, Thomas Hobbes wrote his famous work, Leviathan which put into writing his views on democracy and monarchy. In this work, he said that life in the state of nature is nasty, brutish, and short and without government, we would be living in this state of nature. Hobbes ideas that people should decide how they should be ruled set the stage for the social contract proposed some years later by John Locke. Society makes a kind of contract with itself to give power to a ruling body. In Leviathan Hobbes also said that nations are like people in that they are selfishly motivated, and that every country was in constant battle for power and wealth. He wanted people to stop fighting and relinquish control to a single ruler. Hobbes ideas werent just about government, though. He was one of the strongest opponents to the idea of spirituality. He believed in materialism that everything that happens is a result of the physical world, and that the soul does not exist. According to Hobbes, nature is made up of material matter there is nothing spiritual or magical about it. Hobbes didnt like the idea of spirit in the mind, because he felt it led people to cause trouble by claiming they were directly in contact with God. In fact, during Thomas Hobbes life, people often used spirituality as an excuse to disobey the government and the church. Hobbes believed that all thoughts and sensations in the mind are produced mechanically by the senses and the brain, but the problem is that our mind doesnt always tell us the truth, it often tells us things we want to believe, or things that were afraid might be true.

Anti Affirmative Action essays

Anti Affirmative Action essays Recently, many people have had a problem with affirmative action. Its unfair rules and just the whole definition are outrageous. Affirmative action is the concept of creating equality for minorities by making all companies balance them out in the workplace. This leads to reverse discrimination, it doesnt always serve its purpose, and it is detrimental to the self-esteem of its recipients. This whole affirmative action concept should be taken out of this country immediately. Most importantly, affirmative action creates reverse discrimination. Non-minority individuals are often denied of a job to make room for minorities. This concept of hiring creates reverse discrimination when employers are forced to hire one individual over another because of racial make up instead of qualifications. Recently, a policeman in Massachusetts was turned down for a position even though he received the highest score on the exam. A few days later, he retook the test and marked the box for African-American, instead of Caucasian, and got the job. This incident further proved that affirmative action forces employers to look for the most qualified minority worker, rather than looking for the most qualified worker in general. Recently, the University of Michigan denied a group of students admission on the grounds of race rather than on their test scores (Cohen 52). In its attempt to create equality uniting the races, it really goes back to where inequality began. It has recreated the same problem that blacks did, only now it is white America that has to endure them. White men have now become the minority, while the past minorities are not minorities anymore. It is very difficult for whites to get jobs or any additional support. Minorities have easy access to jobs because companies are looking to find minorities to let into affirmative action. Minorities are also getting a lot of additional support. For instance...

EU as an International Actor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

EU as an International Actor - Essay Example In the contemporary world, a whole host of issues compete for attention due to the proliferation of issues that every world theory seeks to privilege. These theories are realism, liberalism, and constructivism (Lott, 2004, p 58). Realism centers of the changing allocation of power between countries, liberalism focuses on the mounting amount of democratic states and the unrest of democratic transitions. Constructivism (idealism) highlights the changing customs of sovereignty, international justice, human rights and the rising potency of religious ideologies in politics. The impact of these intellectual constructs stretches far beyond classrooms and committees. EU legislators and public observers appeal to elements of all hypotheses when articulating solutions to international issues quandaries. International relations theories inform and shapes and the thinking of the community thinkers who interpret and propagate academic ideas (Kagan, 2004, p 42). Realism theory perceives that global politics are driven by competitive self-interest. As such, its proponents believe that the critical dynamic among nations is a struggle for supremacy in a bid by each nation to preserve and/ or to improve its military security and economic wellbeing in rivalry with other nations. Proponents view the power struggle as a zero-sum game whereby a gain in one nation is inexorably a loss for others. The realism extends to view humankind as inherently being divided by national loyalty to nations or other foci like culture and religion. Realist theory developed resulting from the failure to safeguard peace after the First World War. World War I caught many by surprise, and the blame was directed on the real politic strategies pursued by the major European powers. An idealist movement emerged that campaigned for lofty rules like morality and democracy in while conducting global relations.