Thomas Hobbes RevisitedWhile I was taking notes in my Western Civilization class I read over some information that made my mind really shift gears. Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679), is said to be “the most original political philosopher of the seventeenth century.” An incredible charge for someone whom lived in the same time with great individuals such as Galileo Galilei, Sir Isaac Newton, Rene Descartes, and John Locke, all of whom laid down an incredible foundation for discovery and discourse for centuries to come. While much of his fellow thinker’s works dealt with science and the mathematical solutions to the universe, Hobbes took on what I believe is a much more complex subject. Human nature.In 1651, Thomas Hobbes wrote the Leviathan, a book that took a very thorough and mechanical look at human nature and brutality. In the Leviathan Hobbes claimed that, “All mental states derive from sensation and all motivation are egotistical. The driving force behind human life is the quest to increase pleasure and minimize pain. Human beings have no spiritual ends and serve no greater moral purpose.” He goes on to state that humans form governments because of the want to meet simple needs and that a sovereign commonwealth is all that keeps the society from tearing itself apart. Hobbes saw people not as individuals looking to better themselves through life’s struggles and battles, but as “self-centered beasts who were utterly without discipline unless it was imposed on them by force.” In a time now where individuals are literally fist fighting for an extra gallon of gasoline, who could argue against him. What I find interesting about his thoughts of human nature is not his harsh views, but the way he places all individuals in the same negative category without any specific biases.Today we find biases on many levels. Race, wealth, appearance, and a mass of other seemingly meaningless ideas. If Thomas Hobbes is correct and all of our discipline is learned forcibly from other sources, how is one supposed to rise above adversity and prosper in life. Just as well what about the ever-faithful idea that people are products of their environments. I personally believe that people are products of their environments, but not in the same sense that most people believe.To understand the idea of being a product of his or her environment, one must define what an environment is. Dictionary.com gives a few different definitions of the word. From, “the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences,” to “an indoor or outdoor setting that is characterized by the presence of environmental art that is itself designed to be site-specific.” In the context of this argument, I pose another definition of environment. If our environment is based on the surroundings of our human-selves, then I state that our bodies are our true environment. In my mind I believe that without two key ideas and elements our bodies prove themselves to be nothing more than shells and housing for our ethereal energy. The elements and ideas that I speak of are the brain and the human soul (by soul I mean ideas such as conscience, karma, ying and yang, and similar concepts).Take for example, the act of moving a limb. To move the human hand takes nothing more than a thought to accomplish, but without that thought from our brains nothing happens. Just as well, a moving hand means nothing unless it has a purpose. Without a soul to give this movement purpose, be it in kindness for a handshake or a slap in anger, we are left flailing aimlessly throughout our days like a leaf falling from a tree. Regardless of the form the movement comes in, it now has meaning; it now has an end from its beginning. This, I believe, can be said for all movements, thoughts, and actions that we as humans have throughout our lives. Take the use of our mouths. Just opening and closing our mouths does little, even when trying to chew gum. However, by adding the power of the great equalizing soul and life beings to get interesting. Wars can be sparked by an insult or an idea that comes from two small lips, but with those same lips a resuscitating breath can be given and love can be made.My point is this, without the brain’s ability to move our limbs and the soul’s ability to choose how we move, our bodies are nothing more than cars without keys. We sit in our garaged homes awaiting our owners to turn us on and go wherever they want us to go. I hope that one can see where my definition of environment fits with the idea of producing an individual’s personality and lifestyle. If we are products of our environments and if our bodies are the environments that we are products of, I pose that it is up to each individual to define, endure, and fulfill their own lives.This may seem like a strange or impossible feat, but how many times have individuals accomplished goals or tasks with little to no active assistance. Day by day people overcome incredible odds that their surroundings should have stopped them from overcoming. It should not be possible for a one legged person to compete in an event that requires both legs but on April 19, 2006, Michael Milton became the fastest Australian speed skier - able-bodied or disabled - after setting a world record at 213.65km/h in France. Even with the encouragement of friends and family, this would not have been possible had he not looked into himself and found the will to continue towards his dream and goal regardless of any hardships that he encountered. If it is possible for a person with only one leg to ski faster than anyone in an entire country, what stops individuals from denying their ghettos or families and friends their own lives?By no means is life in any sense fair. Cards are dealt and hands are played, in many instances, on a no win basis. In the end, the deciding card lies within; there is no situation that must end with giving up. There is always an option of betterment and there will always be a choice. The fact that not every choice is the one that may be desired is irrelevant. Individual accountability holds that it is up to the sole proprietor of whatever action to take responsibility of said action. It is not the fault of the person whom threw the first punch to force the victim to stand and take the hit. It is up to the victim to look within his or herself and respond accordingly. The same can be said for anyone that has grown up in an area that does not suit their chosen lifestyle. That individual as well must look within and choose to move their environment away from whatever negativity that hinders their success in life or stay and find a way around whatever blocks their path.Society is filled with individuals that are far from holding up their titles as such. This society is full of castrated sheep that can do no more than follow the path of not the Sheppard but the nearest sheep to them. We find the need to give in to the ideas that were given to us and not question them nor seek to find our own truths. Learned helplessness is a psychological condition in which a human being or an animal has learned to act or behave helpless in a particular situation, even when it has the power to change its unpleasant or even harmful circumstance. In the same token, I believe that learned ignorance is the condition that our society faces. As a whole, we have learned to look past truth and side with impure assumptions. We would rather pass the proverbial “buck” to the nearest scapegoat, as opposed to taking responsibility any and all situations that we can control. Life is not something that should be placed to the wayside to wait for the next person to claim, fix, or destroy. Life is a precious individual singularity that is to be nurtured, loved, and furthered. The only way for us to prosper and thrive fully as a society is to care for and strengthen our own environments.As self-centered beasts, we should hold fast to that nature. Claim your life and assure everyone around you that no one can force or impose their will upon anyone without that person’s consent. Be one’s environment a wasteland full of despairing sludge or a tropical paradise filled with thriving love and peace, it is his or hers to nurture and allow to grow. How one goes about this growth is for each individual to choose, but that choice can never be taken away.
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