English Assignment: Thomas Hobbes and Charles Peirce's Ideas

This essay delves into the philosophical concepts of sovereignty, liberalism, realism, and individualism, primarily through the contrasting viewpoints of Thomas Hobbes and Charles S. Peirce. The author begins by establishing Hobbes' core ideas, particularly his emphasis on the social contract theory and the relationship between sovereignty and individual liberties, referencing his work 'Leviathan.' The essay highlights Hobbes' belief that the rise of sovereignty often diminishes liberalism. It then introduces Peirce's perspectives, contrasting his views on natural rights and the nature of human beings with those of Hobbes. The essay explores their differing views on human nature, the desire for power, and the role of authority. It examines Hobbes' perspective on the need for a strong sovereign to maintain order, while also presenting Peirce's emphasis on the importance of habit and reality. The essay concludes by summarizing the interconnectedness of these four concepts, emphasizing their importance in understanding the balance of power in the modern world. The essay utilizes quotes from their books to support its claims. The essay's structure is organized into body paragraphs that discuss human nature, sovereignty, and the human desire for power, illustrating the complex relationship between the ideas of the two philosophers. It is clear that both philosophers hold differing views on human nature, and their ideas are contrasted in the essay.

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English Assignment
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1ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT
Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher whose entire philosophical work centers
round the political nature of the concepts of sovereignty, liberalism, realism and individualism
(Risse). He is not only famous for his philosophical works but for his literary works as well. It is
seen that most of his literary as well as philosophical works revolve round the concept of the
social contract theory, which was popularized by him (Risse). He considered all these concepts
to be inter-related and believed that the rise of one concept lead the deprivation of the others
(King). He says in his book “Leviathan”, “For by Art is created that great Leviathan called a
Commonwealth or State which is but an Artificial Man; though of greater stature and strength
than the Natural, for whose protection and defense it was intended; and in which, the
Sovereignty is an Artificial Soul, as giving life and motion to the whole body” (Wilson). This is
the thesis statement of this essay. It is to be noted that both Thomas Hobbes in his political
philosophies as well as Charles S. Peirce in their works give a detailed overview of these four
topics (Oakeshott). It is to be noted that as per Thomas Hobbes, the rise of sovereignty reduces
the liberalism of the individuals and vice versa. According to Charles S. Peirce, the traditional
belief of the people in the natural rights of nations and human beings have been dissipated
(Peirce).
According to Hobbes in his book “Leviathan”, “... the life of man solitary, poor, nasty,
brutish, and short. ... The condition of man ... is a condition of war of everyone against
everyone” (Hobbes). This quote clearly indicates the relation between the concepts of
sovereignty, liberalism, realism as well as individualism. According to the philosopher, human
beings in their natural state work towards the fulfillment of their natural selfish desires. Human
beings in order to fulfill their natural selfish desires are even willing to sacrifice a part of their
liberty and accept the sovereignty of others. According to Charles Peirce, “It is terrible to see

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how a single unclear idea, a single formula without meaning….fullness of his intellectual vigor
and in the midst of intellectual plenty” (Peirce). Thus, it is found that both the authors give the
same view of the nature of the human beings (Oleksy). Moreover, Hobbes also adds about the
nature of the human beings to sacrifice their natural rights for the fulfillment of their desires by
saying that “...in the first place, I put for a general inclination of all mankind, a perpetual and
restless desire of power after power, that ceaseth only in death” (Hobbes).
According to Hobbes, “The obligation of subjects to the sovereign is understood to last as
long, and no longer, than the power lasteth by which he is able to protect them” (Hobbes). This
line clearly indicates the opinion of Hobbes regarding the concept of sovereignty. He was of the
opinion that the sovereigns derive their power from the common people and it is precisely these
common people on whom they conduct their gross misappropriation of power. Moreover, he also
says that, “During the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are
in that conditions called war; and such a war, as if of every man, against every man” (Hobbes).
Therefore, many people are of the opinion that the presence of the sovereign is essential for the
human beings. Peirce, on the other hand, is of the opinion that, “Generality is, indeed, an
indispensable ingredient of reality; for mere individual existence or actuality without any
regularity whatever is a nullity. Chaos is pure nothing” (Peirce). Thus, we find Hobbes, on the
one hand, is articulating the necessity of the authority for the proper functioning of the human
beings, whereas Peirce, on the other hand, is negating that idea through his philosophy of reality
and individualism (Peirce).
“There is no such thing as perpetual tranquillity of mind while we live here; because life
itself is but motion, and can never be without desire, nor without fear, no more than without
sense” (Hobbes). This line of Hobbes from the book “Leviathan”, clearly indicates his view of

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the concept of human desire for power and their willingness to do every possible thing for the
achievement of that end. He even goes to the extent of saying that, “There is no such thing as
perpetual tranquillity of mind while we live here; because life itself is but motion, and can never
be without desire, nor without fear, no more than without sense” (Hobbes). Therefore, in the
opinion of Hobbes force is an important thing. Peirce, on the other hand, is of the opinion that,
“There is no such thing as perpetual tranquillity of mind while we live here; because life itself is
but motion, and can never be without desire, nor without fear, no more than without sense”
(Peirce). Therefore, for Peirce, habit is more important than the desire of the human beings for
the procurement of power (Peirce). Thus, it is found that the two political philosophers hold
different views of human nature.
Therefore, from the above discussion it becomes clear that the concepts of sovereignty,
liberalism, reality as well as individualism are important concepts and related to each other. The
first body paragraph clearly states the nature of the human beings and their nature to sacrifice
their natural rights for the fulfillment of their desires. It is to be noted that such conditions
normally leads to the rise of sovereignty and the deprivation of the rights of the individuals. The
second body paragraph clearly states that the nature of the sovereignty and the response of the
individuals to it. It is to be noted that some people consider that many of the philosophies of
Hobbes supported the sovereignty whereas his other ideas did not. The third body paragraph
clearly indicates the view of the desire of the human beings for the procurement of power as well
as authority. Thus, it can be said that the four concepts are inter-linked and all four concepts are
necessary for the balance of power in the present world scenario.

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References
Hobbes, Thomas. Elements of law, natural and political. Routledge, 2013.
King, Preston. The ideology of order: a comparative analysis of Jean Bodin and Thomas
Hobbes. Routledge, 2013.
Oakeshott, Michael. Hobbes on civil association. Liberty fund, 2012.
Oleksy, Mateusz W. Realism and individualism: Charles S. Peirce and the threat of modern
nominalism. Vol. 55. John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2015.
Peirce, Charles S. Philosophical writings of Peirce. Courier Corporation, 2012.
Risse, Mathias. "Introduction." Global Political Philosophy. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2012.
1-8.
Wilson, Catherine. "Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan." The Oxford Handbook of British Philosophy in
the Seventeenth Century. 2013.