Hobbes, Descartes and the science of man

In this paper I intend to examine the political philosophy of

Thomas Hobbes and Rene Descartes, in particular their ideas

relating to the science of man, and attempt to explain why their ideas

prove that it is not possible to construct a science of man. I will also

briefly mention the philosophy of Donald Davidson in regards to a

science of man.

The theories of Hobbes and the contemporary socio-

biologists attempt to recognize how man works and on that basis

build a society. "Hobbes wished to be seen as the inventor of the

science of politics" (Sorell, p45) He went about this by looking at the

psychology of man and discovering that man is a mechanism.

Hobbes wanted to understand mechanics. He wanted to look at why

men live the way that they do in society and therefore, breaks it

down. By doing this he discovered that people are cogs in the social

machine. Therefore he wants to examine......

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Title: Hobbes Descartes And The Science Of Man
Approximate Word Count: 1407
Approximate Pages: 6 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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