LIBS1650 - Quest for Wisdom Essay: Hobbes, Leviathan, and The Road

This essay delves into the concept of "Quest for Wisdom" by analyzing Thomas Hobbes's philosophical ideas presented in his book Leviathan and comparing them to the film The Road. The essay explores Hobbes's concept of the "state of nature" and the necessity of a commonwealth government to ensure peace and order within society. The analysis examines how the film portrays the breakdown of civil society and the challenges faced by individuals in a post-apocalyptic world, mirroring Hobbes's arguments about the importance of government and the potential for humans to become "wolves" to each other in the absence of societal structures. The essay highlights key themes such as the search for civilization, the role of violence, and the significance of mutual trust and faith, ultimately arguing for the importance of a government that protects individual rights and fosters a civil society.

Running head: QUEST FOR WISDOM
Quest for Wisdom
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1QUEST FOR WISDOM
In the book Leviathan in 1651, British philosopher Thomas Hobbes had instructed many
things regarding the society and life of common people about what would become of society
without the presence of Government. In the book, Hobbes wrote down that the situation would
be called ‘the state of nature’.
There would be no constraints by the Government officials and everybody would try to
gain their rights through battle or war (Oakeshott, 2017). In the book, Hobbes has discussed the
fact society is a group of people residing under the control of sovereign Government. In the film
The Road, this aspect has been displayed in different manner.
The movie, The Road was released in the year 2009. The director of the movie was John
Hillcoat. In the book Leviathan, it has been argued several times that the only way to attain peace
within civil society is to establish a commonwealth government that will take care of all the
needs of the human beings. In the movie The Road, this idea has been reverberated. The term
‘leviathan’ signifies a huge human being who is developed from bodies of all citizens in the
world (Oakeshott, 2017).
The word ‘fire’ is a very crucial factor for all human beings in this context. Other than
that it can be said that this fire is the only thing that keeps people alive. The fire in the human
beings is real and it is burning inside them only.
Everyone in the world needs to see this movie because it has brought out several
heartbreaking images for the audience. The story of the movie is set in the world after
apocalypse. The civil society seems to have broken down and people have no idea what is lying
in front of them in this situation (Bell Jr, 2019).

2QUEST FOR WISDOM
The two central characters of this movie are a man named Viggo Mortensen and his son
named Kodi Smit-McPhee. Their only intention is to try to keep civilization alive in this world.
They find everything has changed and people have become savage. In this quest, they remember
that famous Latin proverb ‘Homo homini lupus est’ that means human beings are wolves to
each other. They have become violent and their savage behavior has affected the lives of others
since they tried to make that man and his son as slaves. Somehow they managed to escape that
situation (Collier, 2012).
They gave their best to survive in that post-apocalyptic world when they went towards
the sea and scavenge on whatever food they got. In the plot of the movie, the man and his son
discovered a place where they could find canned foods and water supplies. When they went on
they found an old man who was almost blind (Mavri, 2013).
In the persuasion of his son, Viggo Mortensen began to share the food with him. If the
plot of Leviathan book can be compared with this scene, it can be said that this is only the
responsibility of the Government to provide food, shelter and medicine to poor and ailing people
(Collier, 2012).
The absence of mutual faith and trust was almost obsolete during the plot development of
the movie (Kaldor, 2013). While these incidents went on, the man shot down an archer with his
flare gun. Both the parties thought they were following each other but no one went for a talk
before applying their weapons.
These things often happen when civil society breaks down. In fact, people lose faith on
each other and begin to doubt everybody. The man, Viggo Mortensen died when he got very

3QUEST FOR WISDOM
weak and could not resist the deterioration of his condition (Bell Jr, 2019). While he was dying
he motivated his son to go on for the search of civilization.
It was of utmost importance for them to find a civilized society where they could have
their protected rights and do not have to fight with each other to earn it. According to Hobbes,
Leviathan book thus explains the significance of setting up a commonwealth government for the
sake of common people (Søfting, 2013).
When civilization is gone, people do not have any option left than protective violence
since this is the only way how people can get their rights. Hospitality cannot be the way open if
there is no civilization in the society.
Humans do become wolves in this manner to achieve what they deserve. Keeping the fire
reveals the intention to carry on with the search for civilization. Anyhow, civil society protected
by the Government assuring rights for individuals is the best way to live.

4QUEST FOR WISDOM
Reference List
Bell Jr, D. M. (2019). State and civil society. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Political
Theology, 457-472.
Collier, S. J. (2012). Neoliberalism as big Leviathan, or…? A response to Wacquant and
Hilgers. Social Anthropology, 20(2), 186-195.
Kaldor, M. (2013). Global civil society: An answer to war. John Wiley & Sons.
Mavri, K. (2013). Cormac McCarthy’s The Road Revisited: Memory and Language in Post-
Apocalyptic Fiction. Sic: časopis za književnost, kulturu i književno prevođenje, (2-Year
3), 0-0.
Oakeshott, M. (2017). Introduction to Leviathan. In Thomas Hobbes (pp. 3-76). Routledge.
Søfting, I. A. (2013). Between Dystopia and Utopia: The Post-Apocalyptic Discourse of Cormac
McCarthy's The Road. English Studies, 94(6), 704-713.