What is Hobbes's view on violence and civilization?

[X-43D]

Man's life in a state of nature, said Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan, is a "war of all against all:"

And in that state of nature, no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

In the Hobbesian view, there can ultimately be no cure for violence; it is in our wiring; in fact, it is in the bones of the universe in which we live. You can counteract or punish it--you can shoot the shooters--but it will always be with you. The state or civilization, according to Hobbes, is the way we organize ourselves to repress violence.

http://www.spectacle.org/1196/hobbes.html
http://www.friesian.com/fallen.htm
http://www.spunk.org/texts/writers/meltzer/sp001500.html

 

[Tojen]

From the specatacle.org article:

If we live in a violent world today, it is because life is out of balance, because our "animal pity" has not learned to cross the same distance that our missiles can.

That might hold true from the American technological perspective, but it doesn't explain suicide bombers. And "animal pity" is an assumption that I don't think holds up. It doens't account for male grizzly bears killing young grizzlies just so they can get laid sooner. Even cute little female ground squirrels have been known to kill the youngsters of other females, presumably to give their own offspring a better chance. Or baby birds that push weaker siblings out of the nest, or...

I can't agree completely with Hobbes, either. Competition of all against all, maybe, but that doesn't have to lead to war. Alliances can be formed by trading, intermarrying, etc. Generally, people spend the vast majority of their time in peace, punctuated only briefly, though memorably, by war.

 

[Architeuthis Dux]

Hobbes's view on violence and civilization is that violence is an inherent part of human nature and cannot be completely eliminated. He believed that in a state of nature, where there is no government or authority to enforce laws, individuals will act in their own self-interest and use violence to protect their own interests. This leads to a constant state of war and chaos, where life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

Hobbes argued that the only way to escape this state of nature is through the establishment of a strong central authority or government that has the power to control and suppress violence. This social contract between individuals and the government is necessary for the protection of individuals and the maintenance of order in society. In this way, civilization is seen as a means of controlling and repressing the inherent violence in human nature.

However, Hobbes also recognized that violence can never be completely eradicated and that it will always be present in some form. This is why he believed that the government must have the power to use force and violence to maintain order and protect the citizens. In his view, the state or civilization is the only way to control and manage the inherent violence in human nature.

In conclusion, Hobbes's view on violence and civilization is that violence is an inevitable part of human nature and can only be controlled and managed through the establishment of a strong government. While civilization may not completely eliminate violence, it provides a means for individuals to coexist peacefully and for society to function effectively.