SİYASAL DÜŞÜNCE - Deneme Sınavı - 13

Thomas More is mostly known as the author of the book titled Utopia (1516). He is also known to have been a lawyer, a politician, a diplomat, one of the leading figures of the Northern European Renaissance and later one of the advocates of the established belief in his age.

Hobbes lists the chain of causes that creates the state of war as follows:

1. People are equal in the state of nature: The main reason causing war in the state of nature is the fact that people are equal in terms of their physical and mental abilities.

2. Inequality causes insecurity: Natural equality brings forth equality of the hope of achieving goals. Because every human being has equal chances with respect to achieving their goals, they have equal hopes. If they both want the same thing, the problem
arises there.

3. The result of insecurity is war: Individuals want to rule others and to dominate them to get rid of the state of insecurity. The state of equality requires to constantly cope with dangers to survive and to dominate others.

Locke departs from the characteristics of human being and of the natural life to construct his political thought. In this thought, human individual is not created to live alone: s/he has to live in a society. The first society is constituted of the relationship between women and men. The society of parents and children follows the former, and the society of masters and slaves comes. These societies, however, differ from political societies in their aims and the responsibilities of their members. Human being, as a social being, is naturally equal and free. Locke claims that reason in the natural state teach all individuals that they are equal and free, and that they must not harm each other’s freedom, life, welfare and property. Individuals are also a part of God’s creation, and God directs them to good. Human beings, differently from any other animals, have reason and conscience. Human nature, therefore, is a virtuous combination of many elements, potentially: Moral, reasonable, egoist, and social elements.

According to Hume, reason is (and has to be) the slave of passions. Moreover, he claims that a particular passion cannot be considered as rational or irrational. They might be based on correct or incorrect beliefs, or they may confirm or contradict with other passions. Hume’s philosophical investigations define moral beliefs as individual experiences and emotions that emerge from the sympathies of the related parties.

Like Nicola Machiavelli, Spinoza sought to understand relations of political power practically, scientifically, and dispassionately. Like Hobbes, he held that citizens are well-advised to give up their right and power to the state in return for the protection that it can provide to them in their pursuit of selfpreservation. Unlike Hobbes, however, Spinoza emphasized the breadth of the practical limitations on the individual’s concession of power to the state; and also, unlike Hobbes, he located a human being’s highest advantage not in mere continued life and the pursuit of pleasure, but in the achievement of adequate knowledge and its resulting peace of mind.

The advent of new trade routes across the globe considerably shifted the economic superiority from feudal institutions to the newly emerging capitalist class.

All are Machiavelli’s views of a ruler/prince.

Martin Luther’s posting of the Ninety-Five theses at Wittenberg is seen as the start of the Protestant Reformation.

(d) is not Calvin’s view. As a matter of fact, he states that the main governors should be prevented from becoming tyrants.

The statements in I, II, III are in accord with Bodin’s definition of sovereignty. However, according to Bodin, since property naturally belongs to a family, it should be beyond the domain of power of sovereignty. Therefore, (c) is the correct answer.

In Utopia, happiness of people is emphasized. According to More, happiness is not a singular thing, rather happiness is collective. And the way to reach happiness is through implementing the equality principle. More, therefore argues that equality cannot be ensured in a state where property is monopolized and absolute.

According to Hobbes, the realm of freedom depends on the legitimacy of the sovereign, and on the individual. Since all the consenting parties are basically equal, all legitimate actions of the sovereign have to be applied to each and every member of the political community.

Locke is considered the father of Liberalism – equality of everyone. His view on property owning contradicts such equality.

According to Hume, the basic purpose of the existence of the state is not to attain an abstract notion of justice, but to prevent any unjust practices in the society, in order to sustain social collaboration.

Like Hobbes, Spinoza held that citizens are well-advised to give up their right and power to the state in return for the protection so that they can pursue self- preservation.

-Machiavelli did not write on any subject other than politics, the state, and the art of war.

- According to Machiavelli, the instinct that lies at the bottom of human behavior is the instinct of ownership. Because the human greed does not have a limit, individual desires and interests constantly conflict.

-According to Machiavelli, the main means ofThe Prince is violence. A prince who wants to hold power should not have any other purpose or thought than war.

For Luther, the essence of religion lies in an inner life that is essentially mystical and nontransferable. On the other hand, the forms of religious exclusion and the services of the clergy were nothing but an aid or an obstacle to achieving this purpose (Sabine, 1969: 30). In his essay on the essence of Christianity, Martin Luther says: “A Christian is the most independent master and is not dependent on anyone; a Christian is the most obedient servant of all and is dependent on
everybody (Luther, 2010: 548).

Calvin claims that social order organized in accord with the true religion is
composed of three elements:

1. The Governors, the source of duty is God.
2. Laws, as the products of natural justice imprinted in all minds by God.
3. The Governed, who are responsible to obey the governors as much as the laws of God (Ağaoğulları, et. al., 2016).

Thomas More, who was the most progressivist and the most fanatic thinker of the English Renaissance, was born in London on February 7, 1478, and was beheaded on July 6, 1535 (Tunçay, 2016: 3). More is mostly known as the author of the book titled Utopia (1516).

Hobbes, transferred Copernicus and Galileo’s scientific discoveries into his own political method. Hobbes’ method reduced the society to its simplest movements and then explained political behavior through the movements that activated these simple elements.