Hobbes' state of war is the basis for his philosophical discourse on human nature. Where Rousseau says that man is compassionate and good to others in his nature, Hobbes argues that man is only out for himself. When the point comes where two men want the same thing, they become enemies of eac...

Thomas Hobbes was interested in why people allowed themselves to be ruled and what would be the best form of government for England. In 1651, Hobbes wrote his most famous work, the Leviathan. In it, he argued that people were naturally evil and could not be trusted to govern. The constant state of w...

John Locke, an influential early liberal English philosopher, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a brilliant political theorist and one of the main figures of the enlightenment, have a considerable importance in political thought, for which they are best known. The Second Treatise of Government by John...

Jason Wolf WR150, Villano 3/2/2004 In Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance," the importance of the individual apart from the masses is continually stressed. Emerson clearly states that a human's full potential is only achieved when his or her thoughts and desires are u...