Hobbs and the Law of Nature

1
Hobbs and the Law of nature
Institution
Name
Date

2
Introduction
Without laws, a human being would be living in a dangerous environment, and few
would survive. Laws are the fundamental building blocks of peaceful coexistence among people.
There are laws that exist by nature and are known as a natural law which is recognized by all
people. “6Other laws exist in writing and are referred to as civil laws which are memorized
whereas natural laws are reasoned or thought.“7 By their very nature, natural laws are natural and
are accepted by all, unlike civil right which keeps changing depending on time. “4This paper will
focus on the natural laws briefly by defining and discussing them according to "Hobbs law of
nature" and their relationship with each other.
Hobbes defines law of nature as, general rules or guidelines that are discovered through
reasoning or thinking. He states that, these laws prohibit men of doing things that destroys his
life or ways that can take away the means that preserve his life. It also does not allow him to
omit that which is known to him that it is supposed to be preserved. (79). “3
Law of nature is a general rule that is discovered through reasoning. Such a law
condemns what is destructive to human and encourages human self-preservation. “1This law,
unlike civil laws that require being written down and publicizing so that they can be known, the
law of nature is realized by intrinsic mental faculties (reason, thinking). “4 This law is accepted
and naturally known by all because it can be reasoned or thought of.
In chapter 14, Hobbes concludes that natural man must seek peace to preserve life where fear
reigns. He states that the first law of nature is: "That every man, ought to endeavor Peace, as far
as he can hope of obtaining it; and when he cannot obtain it, that he may seek, and use, all helps
and advantages of war.“ 6The first branch of which Rule, contains the first, and Fundamental Law

3
of Nature; which is, to seek Peace, and follow it.“1 The demand for natural law is that we seek
peace and to defend ourselves which is to fulfill our natural right.
In second law of Chapter 14, he states that "We should be willing to transfer our natural right
to all things in the state of nature to a sovereign power, when others are willing to do so too, for
the sake of peace and defense of our security." “4
The second law is concerned about seeking peace. This means certain rights are to be
compromised to avoid consequences brought by laws of nature. “5Further the second law require
that "That a man be willing, when others are so too (as far-forth, as for Peace, and defense of
himself he shall think it necessary, to lay down this right to all things; and be contented with so
much liberty against other men, as he would allow other men against himself."“6This mutual
compromise of right for the sake of others is regarded as contract and the foundation of moral
obligation. “1
1. Ellickson, Robert C., and Robert C. Ellickson. Order without law: How neighbors settle
disputes. Harvard University Press, 2009.
2. Gilmer, James Edward, and James Edward Gilmer. The Bible Is Right!: About Dinosaurs
and Evolution!. AuthorHouse, 2013.
3. Kharel, Gehendra. "Impacts of urbanization on environmental resources: A land use
planning perspective." (2011).
4. Marx, Felix G., Olivier Lambert, and Mark D. Uhen. Cetacean paleobiology. John Wiley
& Sons, 2016.
5. Page, Roderic DM. "Extracting scientific articles from a large digital archive: BioStor
and the Biodiversity Heritage Library." BMC Bioinformatics 12, no. 1 (2011): 187.
6. Deshpande, J. S. "B. Sc. Final Examination, 2010."