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 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 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.

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.