Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 September 2009
Summary
The end or scope of philosophy is, that we may make use to our benefit of effects formerly seen; or that, by application of bodies to one another, we may produce the like effects of those we conceive in our mind, as far forth as matter, strength, and industry will permit, for the commodity of human life. … [T]he utility of moral and civil philosophy is to be estimated, not so much by the commodities we have by knowing these sciences, as by the calamities we receive from not knowing them.
(EW I, 7–8; Elements of Philosophy, Sec. 6–7)Civil philosophy, which Hobbes claimed to have invented, has its point and purpose in teaching humankind how to live in peace. While we cannot always control the actions of neighboring nations, we can, Hobbes taught, so organize our own society that we may maintain peace among ourselves, and best hope to defend against outsiders. The benefits of maintaining a bastion of domestic peace and stability are so many and so precious that one might hardly think they need advertising; but Hobbes lived in a time that called out for reminding men that learning, progress, arts and sciences, comfort and plenty, society, civilization, and the very preservation of humanity are worth the price we must pay for them. That price is significant, for it usually involves requiring us to do many things that we do not want to do.
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- Morality in the Philosophy of Thomas HobbesCases in the Law of Nature, pp. 1 - 10Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009
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