Hobbes and Kant: Contrasting Philosophies on Human Nature
Thomas Hobbes: Corporeal Materialism
For Hobbes, reality is matter in motion (corporeal materialism). These bodies are composed of atoms (atomism) and move in space according to mechanical laws (mechanism) and because of necessity (determinism). Nature is homogeneous and consists of individual beings (individualism). He denies the existence of essences of all types. This means that universal concepts are only names (nominalism) used to designate a plurality of subjects with similar features. This also explains the concept of the human being.
What is Humankind?
He defines human beings as a living body composed of atoms, where human and body designate the same thing. He does not deny the existence of the soul, drawing its vital role, but denies that it may be immaterial. The soul cannot exist separate from the body.
Human Nature
Human beings are governed by the desire that impels them to maintain and increase their potential for life. Desire is governed by pleasure. Anything that increases my power and my vital power is delightful, and what is painful declines it. Therefore, desire and passions are the aversion governing human behavior.
Are We Good or Bad by Nature?
Self-preservation is the first priority, and our natural desires cannot be considered good or bad. What increases my power is believed to be good, and what decreases it is bad. Hobbes viewed human beings as radically individualistic and selfish. Even when one does something that seems generous, one is always pursuing a selfish interior motive.
What is the Relationship Between Appearance and Rational Desires?
Human beings are equal by nature, but this equality is a continuing source of conflict because no one can defeat anyone else. Moreover, their desires are very similar. In human nature, there are three causes of discord that impel us to attack others: competition, confidence, and glory. If there is no law that limits their thirst, the result is a war of all against all. Reason cannot determine their desires and wishes. It is placed at the service of desire. But reason is what allows us to give up our power and deposit it in a single individual who can impose peace and avoid the war of all against all that cravings cause.
Immanuel Kant on the Rule of Reason
Kant is the clearest exponent of Enlightenment thought. The reason for the Enlightenment was a criticism that applied to all areas of human life and considered all matters submitted to it, without tradition or authority. Optimism was rooted in confidence in the ability of reason to improve the living conditions of humankind. His first subject was nature. Then he dealt with human beings; his object was morality. Kant was a Christian philosopher. The Pietist movement, in which he was raised from a young age, valued personal religious experience and feeling over dogma or worship rituals. A religion conceived as a rational faith.
What is Humankind?
To explain human beings, he did not appeal to God but looked into them, and they all stood on moral rationality and the value and dignity of all human beings. It is what makes us different from other animals, as only human beings can impose moral obligations to act and set aside the dictates of reason from their impulses. Autonomy of the individual. We must be aware that we can think for ourselves and not allow ourselves to be governed by others. The figure marks the coming of age of human beings, who no longer require the protection of any other authority to think and make their own decisions. The autonomy of the will is considered the supreme principle of moral action. Heteronomy, its opposite, is subject to the will of others or letting ourselves be conditioned by circumstance. To exercise this autonomy, the only thing that is required is civil and political freedom.
What Do You Know About the Soul?
His first goal was based on scientific knowledge. He also pointed out its limits. The conclusion he arrived at is that it is impossible to prove the existence of the soul. The same is true of freedom. They are not objects of possible experience and therefore cannot have scientific knowledge.
Human Nature
Our nature is halfway between animality and perfect rationality. He pointed out that what differentiates us from animals is our moral rationality. In these, there may be a conflict between your desires and duty because they have no concept of duty or their action is rational. They are limited to simply following their biological impulses. Duty to act involves two things: rationality and autonomy of the individual. It is an unconditional act that takes the form of the categorical imperative. I do my duty regardless of what my wishes are. It is the imperative of reason and the submission of our desires and passions to it.
Postulates of Practical Reason
Kant recognizes human frailty, the difficulty we sometimes have in acting according to our duty. We are not perfect rational beings. There is a tension between reason and desire. If I can choose between reason and desire, I suppose I am free. Freedom is a necessary assumption to value my moral action. If I desire to do good, I will be ever more capable of acting only in accordance with reason and without letting myself be carried away by desire. I suppose the immortality of the soul would have hoped that this path can be followed completely. Thinking that there is a being who is given absolute perfection (God) lets me trust that this process could also culminate with me someday.