1. Introduction Recently the discussion of the role of the State has had a resurgence thanks in no small part to the indiscretions of some of our elected officials. This may have led to political journalists dusting off their copies of Locke, Hobbes and Hume in order to go back to answering the questions of […]
Thomas Hobbes’ ‘Leviathan’
1.The Fool – A Definition Hobbes’ ‘Leviathan’ is one of the most important books in political philosophy chiefly because it offered a view of how we should organise ourselves in order to avoid a life that was ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short’. It famously created in the mind of the reader a vision of […]
Machiavelli – Ends and Means
INTRODUCTION “Cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit cannot be severed; for the effect already blooms in the cause, the end preexists in the means, the fruit in the seed”– Ralph Waldo Emerson In discussing whether the end justifies the means I plan to spend as much time on the relationship between ends […]
Gene-Machine Darwinism & Genuine Altruism
1.Introduction This essay will look at the truth of the conditional statement of “if gene-machine Darwinism is true then none of us displays genuine altruism”. I will first need to define what is meant by both the terms “gene-machine Darwinism” and “genuine altruism” in order to clarify the premises that the support my conclusion. The […]
Peter Singer – A Case For Animal Rights
1.Is Eating Meat Wrong? TV programmes by celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall have introduced a new generation to the concept of animal rights and made the public reflect on eating meat and their relationship to animals in general. Academic philosopher Peter Singer is one of the most high profile contributors to […]