"...men live without other security than what their own strength and their own invention shall furnish them withal. In such conditions there is no place for industry, no culture of the earth.... no account of time; 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."
Chapter Thirteen: Of the Natural Condition of Mankind as Concerning their Felicity and Misery
- Hobbes states that all men are made equal by nature. He acknowledges that some men may be smarter or stronger than others, but in the end, this does not impede on man's ability to achieve his means. As he says, "For as to the strength of body, the weakest has strength enough to kill the strongest, either by secret machination, or by confederacy with others that are in the same danger with himself."
- It is this very equality that he tells us summons man's ambitions, as "from this equality of ability ariseth equality of hope in the attaining of our ends."
- Thus, in the natural order of things, men are constantly pitted in competition with one another, attempting to conquer/overpower as many others as possible so that our own goals/ambitions are achieved.
- Hobbes writes that there are "three principal causes of quarrel" in man:
- Competition - the need to "invade for gain"
- Diffidence - the need for "safety", to protect oneself from others
- Glory - the need for reputation, that one's status might be elevated (thus aiding in attaining personal agenda)
- The argument ultimately boils down to Hobbes' belief that "without a common power to keep them all in awe", man is embroiled in a constant state of war.
- He writes that men reinforce this idea themselves by unconsciously protecting themselves against their fellow man by their actions (ie. locking their doors at night, locking their belongings in chests/drawers). To him, this only confirms the natural suspicion that man has for other men.
- The chapter draws to a conclusion with Hobbes' introducing the idea that in such a state, there is no such thing as right vs wrong or injustice vs justice. "To this war of every man against every man, this also is consequent: that nothing can be unjust... where there is no common power, there is no law; where no law, no injustice."
- The argument provides a segway into his concept of the Law of Nature, found in Chapter 14.