Self Love*
	Thomas Hobbes (1839)
	*Title supplied by editor.
	Ethics & Contemporary Issues
	Professor Douglas Olena
Motion 39
	Hobbes in a classical style of explanation shows the route from which our ordinary desires proceed.
	He shows how the animal motions produce human Endeavor.
	40 Then endeavor is split into two types;
		Appetite or Desire
		Aversion
Motion 40
	³That which men desire, they are said to LOVE: and to HATE those things for which they have aversion.²
	³Those things which we neither desire, not hate, we are said to contemn; CONTEMPT being nothing else but an immobilityŠ[or rebellion] of the heart in resisting the actions of certain things.
	Our appetite, aversion and contempt may change because of the continual changeability of human dispositions.
Values 40
	Whatever man desires, he calls good; the object of his hate and aversion evil; the object of his contempt, vile and inconsiderable.
	Hobbes takes it that good, evil and contemptible are only descriptions of our sentiment, not some description of the object¹s nature.
	³Felicity of this life consisteth not in the repose of a mind satisfied. There is no suchŠ utmost aim,Š or greatest good.²
Values 40
	Man is inclined to desire power, but is not satisfied with it. 
	Each gain of power is accompanied by the desire for more.
	A man dies when he no longer desires anything.
Equality and Competition 41
	With respect to man¹s mind, he is equal with others in prudence, which Hobbes defines as experience.
	Contentment with one¹s share is the sign of equality.
	³From this equality of ability, ariseth equality of hope in the attaining of our ends.
	When two desire the same thing that they both cannot enjoy, they become enemies.²
Competition and Diffidence 41
	Enemies attempt to destroy or subdue one another.
	But the conqueror is always vulnerable to be conquered.
	³And from this diffidence of one another, there is no way for any man to secure himself.²
	Whatever measures a man must take to secure himself should be allowed, even conquest.
Diffidence and Glory 41
	That gives no pleasure, rather grief in that there is no power to overawe one¹s contemporaries. 
	³Everyone looks to others to value him even as he values himself.²
	If someone contemns him, he either makes an example of or destroys him.
Causes of Quarrel 41
	Competition:
		One invades another for gain.
	Diffidence:
		One invades for safety.
	Glory:
		One invades for reputation.
War 41
	There is war when there is no one to overawe them in power.
	It is every man against every man.
	³So the nature of war consisteth not in actual fighting; but in the known disposition thereto, during all the time there is no assurance to the contrary.²
War 41
	For example, the cold war between the Soviets and the U.S. or the war on terror.
	³All other time is PEACE.²
War 42
	During war, there is no place for industry because of uncertainty, no culture, no navigation, nor imports of commodities, no commodious building, no knowledge, no account of time, no arts, no letters, no society and there is continual fear and the danger of violent death.
	³Šand the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and shortŠ²
War 42
	It is not always that bad, but when there is a continual fixation on warlike activities, the entire culture suffers and individuals in it.
	³All society therefore is either for gain, or for glory; that is, not so much for love of our fellows, as for the love of ourselves.²
	No society which begins with vain glory can last, for if everyone has honor, then no one has it. Those individuals persist only by comparison with their inferiors.
Society 42
	If there were no fear in men, society would proceed by domination rather than by egalitarian society.
	³We must therefore resolve, that the original of all great and lasting societies consisted not in the mutual goodwill men had towards each other, but in the mutual fear they had of each other.²
Society 42
	Men are equals in strength.
	Society exists in the tension of that equality by stipulating leadership by the civil law.
	We should therefore not look scornfully on self care or preservation.
	³It isŠ neither absurd nor reprehensible, neither against the dictates of true reason, for a man to use all his endeavors to preserve and defend his body and the members thereof from death and sorrows.²
Our Rights 43
	³Therefore the first foundation of natural right is this, that every man as much as is in him lies endeavor to protect his life and members.²
	³He must also be allowed a right to use all the means, and do all the actions, without which he cannot preserve himself.²
Our Rights 43
	All other rights are given to him by nature for man to do as he wishes for his own profit.
	By this we conclude ³that in the state of nature, to have all and do all, is lawful for all.²
	³Šthat in a state of nature, profit is the measure of right.²
Conflict 43
	However the conflict arises because every man has a right to the same things. So one has the right to something, the other a right to resist his taking it.
	War is the state of conflict where by words or deeds, men are in a contest of wills to acquire what they deem good.