Ryan+and+Scott

Thomas Hobbes
By: Scott Bentley

Thomas Hobbes believed that men were naturally evil. With this he believed that the only way people could be controlled was with absolute monarchy, but the king wouldn’t be leader because of his blood but from experience and wisdom. Thomas Hobbes once wrote and said, “If humanity is to live in peace, then it must enter into a contract with the sovereign power and exchange most of its natural freedom for the security of civil peace, which the sovereign supposedly guaranteed” (Hobbes). This social contract was an unwritten document that was more of a theory. This theory itself is as old as philosophy itself. What the theory explains is that there was a unanimous agreement among people to surrender their liberty, moral value and political power for protection. The problem with this is that no body felt free anymore or safe, even from the government. They didn’t feel safe form the government because now that they gave up their freedom for peace the government has the power to take what ever they want.

John Locke


By Ryan McChesney

John Locke was a British philosopher who based his work on opposition to authoritarianism and a strong belief in self-reason. He was born on August 29th 1632 and died in 1704. "Locke was a Medical Researcher, Physician, political operative, and a economist" (Uzgalis). Locke believed one should use reason to find the truth, not just believe what the authorities say. He wrote several essays expressing his beliefs. One of these was “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” in which he describes the limit of human understanding relating to god. Basically Locke tried to use reason to explain the world. He truly was an inspirational figure for the citizens of the enlightenment.

 Uzgalis, William. "John Locke." //Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy//. Stanford University/Metaphysics Research Lab, 2009. Web. 07 Aug. 2009. .(1)