Human beings are physical objects, according to
Hobbes, sophisticated machines all of whose functions
and activities can be described and explained in
purely mechanistic terms. Even thought itself,
therefore, must be understood as an instance of the
physical operation of the human body. Sensation, for
example, involves a series of mechanical processes
operating within the human nervous system, by means of
which the sensible features of material things produce
ideas in the brains of the human beings who perceive
them. (Leviathan I 1)
Human action is similarly to be explained on Hobbes's
view. Specific desires and appetites arise in the
human body and are experienced as discomforts or pains
which must be overcome. Thus, each of us is motivated
to act in such ways as we believe likely to relieve
our discomfort, to preserve and promote our own
well-being. (Leviathan I 6) Everything we choose to do
is strictly determined by this natural inclination to
relieve the physical pressures that impinge upon our
bodies. Human volition is nothing but the
determination of the will by the strongest present
desire.
Hobbes nevertheless supposed that human agents are
free in the sense that their activities are not under
constraint from anyone else. On this compatibilist
view, we have no reason to complain about the strict
determination of the will so long as we are not
subject to interference from outside ourselves.
(Leviathan II 21)
As Hobbes acknowledged, this account of human nature
emphasizes our animal nature, leaving each of us to
live independently of everyone else, acting only in
his or her own self-interest, without regard for
others. This produces what he called the "state of
war," a way of life that is certain to prove
"solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
(Leviathan I 13) The only escape is by entering into
contracts with each other—mutually beneficial
agreements to surrender our individual interests in...
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