Why Read Thomas Hobbes Quotes?
Got this university assignment last week – had to analyze political philosophy quotes. Never heard of Thomas Hobbes before. Professor said “just Google it,” but I ain’t trusting random websites. Figured I’d tackle it proper.
Started by grabbing my roommate’s old political science textbook. Dusty thing weighed like five pounds. Opened to the Hobbes chapter and immediately regretted it. Wall of tiny text talking about “sovereign power” and “state of nature.” Felt my brain leaking out my ears after two paragraphs.
Then remembered the smart approach: watch normal people explaining stuff on YouTube. Found some guy breaking down Hobbes’ ideas while doodling stick figures. His main points:
- Humans are naturally selfish jerks
- Without rules, we’d all be punching each other constantly
- That’s why we need tough governments keeping order
Bingo! Suddenly those headache-inducing quotes made sense. Wrote down three big ones:
“Life is nasty, brutish, and short”
Means without laws, we’d be living like wild animals fighting over food and shelter. Basically describes my freshman dorm before RA patrols.
“War of all against all”
Hobbes thinks humans will automatically screw each other over without authority watching. Seen this at buffet lines when someone takes the last shrimp.
“Covenants without swords are but words”
Fancy way of saying rules mean nothing unless someone enforces them. Like when my landlord threatens fines for loud parties but never shows up.
Tested this during weekend grocery shopping. Watched people at self-checkout – soon as staff walked away, three different folks “accidentally” forgot to scan protein bars. Hobbes called it 400 years ago!
Ended up writing my paper using just those quotes plus real-life examples. Professor said it showed “surprisingly practical understanding.” Made me wonder why college can’t always teach things this way instead of using alien vocabulary.
