Philosopher Thomas Hobbes claimed that human beings constantly live in a ‘state of nature’ in which life is ‘short, nasty, and brutish’. According to Hobbes, the only right a person held was the right to ‘self-preservation’; preserve oneself by any means necessary. If this were the case, everyone would be at war with one another. This is what life would be like without morality, and without rules and regulations. Hobbes claimed that in order for people to avoid living in a state of nature, everyone must hand over all of their rights to an absolute power; he called this power a Sovereign. Thomas Hobbes was born in 1588 and died in 1679 (http://www.egs.edu/resources/hobbes.html). A short biography of Hobbes can be found at this link. Already, at this very early time, one can see that the “death of God” ideology existed. If God created the ten deadly sins, then why would human beings live in a ‘state of nature’ if as a result of their actions, they would be sentenced to eternity in hell?
The truth is, many people believe that you only get one life to live, and as a result, self-preservation is something that would be very important. In Marie Corelli's "Sorrows of Satan", Corelli writes "Live your life to yourself, -if you do anything for others they will only treat you with the blackest ingratitude,-so take my advice, and don't sacrifice your own personal interests for any consideration whatever" (Corelli 38). This sentence shows the ideals many people have in this world and in order to ensure that people are not constantly at war with one another, instilling morals and values in people is something that is very important. Morality is something that has continued to develop over time. It is instilled in people through parental guidance, as well as the societies people grow up in. Someone born and raised in Canada would have an entirely different set of morals and principles than that of someone born and raised in Iran for example. This is a direct result of the society people grow up in and the lifestyle people are used to.
Rules and Regulations (i.e. Laws) are a necessary means to prevent Hobbes’ ‘state of nature’ ideology. This is a direct result of the materialistic society in which we live in today. Corelli writes "It often happens, nevertheless that when bags of money fall to the lot of aspiring genius, God departs and the devil walks in" (35). People are constantly looking to improve their lifestyle, and unfortunately, the media has glamorized this material lifestyle and many people do whatever it takes to achieve this standard of living; lie, cheat, steal, etc. In many cases, a jail sentence is not enough of a deterrent to stop people from performing such acts. However, fortunately, many people have strong morals that would stop them from doing these acts, despite the potential for money, and these prevent them from performing immoral acts like the ones I have illustrated above. Hobbes’ state of nature is something that does in fact exist in many areas of the world. Human beings fighting other human beings in order to survive. This is an unfortunate reality that makes me quite grateful to have been born and brought up in Canada.
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