The notions of right and wrong, justice and injustice,have there no place. Where there is no common power, there is no law; whereno law, no injustice.
Hobbes is claiming that without a government entity, right and wrong, justice and injustice cannot be defined. I do not think this is completely valid from a moral stand point.
For the savage people
Referring to people as "savage" is demeaning.
till laws bemade, they cannot know, nor can any law be made till they have agreed uponthe person that shall make it
What happens if the individuals of society cannot agree on who makes the laws?
Let himtherefore consider with himself, when taking a journey, he arms himself andseeks to go well accompanied; when going to sleep, he locks his doors; wheneven in his house, he locks his chests; and this when he knows there be lawsand public officers armed to revenge all injuries shall be done him; what opinionhe has of his fellow-subjects when he rides armed; of his fellow-citizens, whenhe locks his doors; and of his children and servants, when he locks his chests.Does he not there as much accuse mankind by his actions as I do by mywords? But neither of us accuse man’s nature in it. The desires and otherpassions of man are in themselves no sin. No more are the actions that proceedfrom those passions, till they know a law that forbids them; which, till laws bemade, they cannot know, nor can any law be made till they have agreed uponthe person that shall make it
It is interesting that Hobbes highlights the desire for humans to seek security despite there being precautions already in place.
The first use violence, to make themselves masters of other men’spersons, wives, children, and cattle;
In today's society, there are many examples of humans using violence to compete. One notable example is imperialism. Certain countries compete for land ownership through the use of weaponry.
For such is the nature of men that, howsoever theymay acknowledge many others to be more witty or more eloquent or morelearned, yet they will hardly believe there be many so wise as themselves, forthey see their own wit at hand and other men’s at a distance.
While a man may acknowledge the intelligence of his peers, they will still want to be the smartest person in a room.
For, as to the strength of body, the weakest has strength enough to kill thestrongest, either by secret machination or by confederacy with others that are inthe same danger with himsel
I best understand this in terms of human dominance. Those who are weak compared to a stronger being in power may often seek to team up and overthrow the stronger being. This can be seen when individuals overthrow a government, or even observed in simple card games.
If civilization imposes such great sacrifices not only on man's sexuality but on his aggressivity, we canunderstand better why it is hard for him to be happy in that civilization.
Is he claiming that the limitations that society places on man's sexual tendencies and aggressiveness are what makes a man unhappy?
Present- day civilization makes it plain that it will only permit sexualrelationships on the basis of a solitary, indissoluble bond between one man and one woman, and that itdoes not like sexuality as a source of pleasure in its own right and is only prepared to tolerate it becausethere is so far no substitute for it as a means of propagating the human race
This is interesting; however, I feel this is established more towards women than it is for men in our current society.
No doubt he will always defend hisclaim to individual liberty against the will of the group.
Human nature can be selfish sometimes which is why an individual may put his freedom before a group.
Happiness, however, is something essentially subjective
I agree, happiness is based on what individuals deem content to them. Not everyone is going to get the same feeling out of different occurences.
'cheap enjoyment
The pessimistic idea that the questions states before are "cheap enjoyments" reduces the value of human life. For me, to know that one of my friends arrived safely at their destination is an everlasting joy. As humans, we are not promised another day, so it is important to not take for granted the blessings that do come.
submit to the inevitable
The language that Freud uses here is interesting. In describing humans as submitting to the inevitable is ultimately stating that humans have to submit to nature.
A group 'maybe identified by outsiders without those so identified having any specific consc10usness of themselves as a grou
An example of this is when enslaved people where brought to the Americas and white colonizers identified them as "black". However, these individuals consisted of many different African tribes such as the Ibo and Yoruba who had distinct differences in culture.
. For our identities are defined in relation to howothe�s identify us, and they do so in terms of groups which are alway s alreadyassociated with specific attr ibutes, stereotypes, and norms.
This quote reminds me of when you have to select a race on applications that include predetermined categories of different races. These groups are created with regard to mainly physical attributes which provides a great deal of limitations.
The person is prior to the association also in that the person's idei1tityand sense of self are usually regarded as ·prior to and relatively independent ofassociation membership
I interpret this quote as saying at times, one's allegiance to an association/club may contradict or seem out of the ordinary from who they are as a person. The identity of that person is independent from their association.
I believe it is not possible to giveone essential definition of oppression
Young's validity as a writer is continuously expressed in her ability to acknowledge the nuances of oppression. I am interested to see how she further expands on how each different social movement group may experience oppression.
Many people in the United States would not choose the term "oppression" to name injustice in our society. For contemporary emancipatory socialmovements, on the other hand-socialists, radical feminists, American Indianactivists, Black activists, gay and lesbian activists-oppression is a central category _of political discourse
It is notable to highlight the use of language within these two sentences. Young notes that "many people" in the US would not use the term oppression; however, she lists a variety of social movements were oppression is the main discourse. This signifies that there is a majority and a minority within the US that causes a division of thought between these two groups.