Now we continue to dart forward back toward our own era. During the medieval era, there was not much theory involved in governing, beyond questions of ethics and justice proposed by theologians. The Renaissance and the Enlightenment which followed, saw a rebirth of interest in the human intellect, and a new belief that people could use their intellectual faculties to understand and then shape the world in which they lived. Thomas Hobbes, operating in this new intellectual environment, investigates why humans form societies in the first place. You'll see that he agrees in some ways with Cicero on the question of equality...but he sees human equality leading in a different direction. For Hobbes, human equality is a scary thing, fraught with danger.
The kind of work Hobbes did can best be understand as a form of intellectual speculation. Before one can look to questions of the best form of government, one must probe more basic questions: What are humans like? How does fundamental human nature create a need for society? (Note the concept is society, not government.) For Hobbes, these are quite different things. After one determines what society is for, one can then create a theoretical model for the government which society needs.
Leave yourself good time to devote to Hobbes, as he is going to be difficult going. The language is old-fashioned, for one thing. Aside from some words you may need to discover (remember http://www.dictionary.com), the main problem will be the older form of verbs. In our day “th, or “eth” endings have become more or less obsolete, replaced by “s” or “es”. As you work on this,
keep an eye on Hobbes’ concept of equality.
keep another eye on Hobbes’ view of human nature, or personality, or psychology (he doesn’t use those terms, but he does describe how he thinks we behave).
keep a third eye (you do have three, don’t you?) on how Hobbes argues his case. How does he prove his assertions? We’ll be looking at a new way to argue, the hypothetical instance. As far as we know, human beings have always lived in societies. So how can we figure out what societies are for without imagining life without them?
Thursday, we’ll look at another thinker: an American contemporary of Hobbes, who relates our need for society to the fact that we’re not equal. See if you can predict some of the reasons he might take this viewpoint, and how believing in inequality might lead to a different set of governmental principles.
Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679) lived in a time of great political unrest in England. Click on either image for biographical information which may help explain his thought. Note, too, how differently he is portrayed by these two artists. What is each trying to suggest about his character.
Thomas Hobbes was no friend to Democracy. The illustration to the left is adapted from the frontispiece of his major work, Leviathan. The Cartoon shows the king (Charles I of England) guarding his realm with a sword (symbol of state), and a staff (the King of England was head of the English Church, and had been since the days of Henry VIII.) The King's body is composed of scores of Englishmen, making him literally the head of the nation. His real body was shortened somewhat when he was executed for defying Parliament.The entire text of Leviathan is available on line Click on the image to read more if you wish.
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John Winthop, painted as the proper Jacobean gentleman he was. Notice the elegant lace collar. Images of puritans dressed drably in black were largely the creation of 19th century Victorians like Nathaniel Hawthorne. Click on Winthrop's image to reach the home of the John Winthrop Society.
Find out what the motto of the society, Praeservare et Transmittere, means, and write it in the margin of the Model Browse around a little and see what resources are there
Download,Read, Mark Up, and place in your dropbox, from The Core Canon
As we saw last class, Thomas Hobbes begins with an observation on human equality. His view was that humans in the state of nature were all equal, and we made a point of trying to see what he meant by that term (remember the distinction between identity and equality). Winthrop’s view could hardly be more different. He begins by observing inequality and attempting to demonstrate that this inequality is a good thing. I want to spend this class period closely examining the differences between these two men.
First, I’d like to have you consider the difference in method of reasoning. Hobbes, as we’ve seen, uses both hypothetical instances and chains of logic to drive his points home. What methods does Winthrop use? See if you can spot at least two. Which method does he use most frequently?
Second, I’d like to have you pay some attention to Winthrop’s defense of inequality. How can he defend inequality as being good for humans? He’ll provide three distinct and different reasons. Make sure you understand each, and if you don’t, have questions ready to raise.
Third, the differences he defines leads him to a series of pronouncements about what society is for, and as you might suspect there are some differences from Hobbes’ view. Winthrop defines a community based on “love and affection,” rather than on mutual fear. Be sure to note that this community extends beyond the faithful (see lines 55 - 60).
Fourth, look to both general principles of how members of a society are to relate to each other (lines, 215 - 240; 285 - 295) and practical applications of those principles as he presents them in a series of “questions and answers”.
Fifth it might be useful to think about how those principles might apply to a variety of different “communities”–including academic communities such as this one
Finally, focus your markups and stickynotes on these issues.
For Thursday, February 26 Equality? No! John Winthrop's View
