In response to Megan’s comment about the family unit:
She says that “children choose to stay with their families because they love their families…not because of some sort of Hobbesian power.” Hmmm…let’s think about this, how does this so-called “love” develop between a child and its mother? The mother cares for it – feeds it, cleans it, keeps it alive. As the child grows older, he recognizes this and repays his mother by acting in a favorable manner toward her. This is what “love” is – gratitude for services rendered.
If love truly existed as some sort of impenetrable emotional bond, then why does it require this whole lead up to exist? You don’t randomly love the man across the street who you’ve never talked to – what a ridiculous thought; of course you don’t, he hasn’t benefited you in any way. “Love” is merely a fancy word used to describe this long-lasting, mutual exchange of benefits between two (or more) people. Why do you think so many marriages end in divorce? It is because not all people can continue giving these benefits for a lifetime.
Sure, I’ll admit that “love” exists. It just isn’t what you say it is. Love is practical – you don’t love the man who shanks you in the prison-yard; you love the man who provides you with the means to survive.
So how can someone say that love is some sort of inherent emotion? Ridiculous, I say. It’s nothing more than extended reciprocity.
In response to Megan’s comment on democracy…
You are absolutely right; Hobbes’ Leviathan is not a democracy. But that doesn’t matter because Hobbes’ Leviathan is better than a democracy. I could sit here all day and point out the problems of democracy (for just one example, take a look at the last election in the United States…), but why would I bother comparing Leviathan to something that doesn’t work? Leviathan isn’t a matter of including everyone’s best interest (as it is clearly impossible to satisfy everyone); this is a matter of doing what is most effective, and what produces the best results.
So what about all those people who are unhappy with Leviathan? The answer is simple – nobody is unhappy with Leviathan. Unhappiness is just a word we use to describe a reaction to a certain moral value in society, and in an effective Leviathan system this moral value does not exist (it has no need to exist because Leviathan is not concerned with making people “happy” or “unhappy”). And since this moral judgment does not exist, people cannot appeal to it to claim some unfounded emotional reaction to it.
In conclusion…
Hobbes cannot be proven wrong because everything he says is based on evidence and logic. Meanwhile, the Metaphysicals base their arguments on figments of their imagination: love, freedom, good, evil, etc. Go and write your poems, you hippies – move over and let a real man run the show.
You heard the man...
