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STUDENT’S BOOK

II A CLASSICO LICEO GINNASIO STATALE “A.

CANOVA” TREVISO

POLITICAL ANIMALS.

LEVIATHAN AND BEHEMOTH: TWO IMAGES OF POLITICS

UNIT 1

The Right of Nature and the Laws of Nature considered

different by Thomas Hobbes

UNIT 2

The Right of Nature and the Laws of Nature considered the

same by John Locke

Gigliola Rossini

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MOTIVATION PHASE: BRAINSTORMIG ACTIVITIES FOR UNIT 1 and UNIT 2

LESSON 1 (2 hours)

Activity 1

TEXT 1. Quotations about Humankind

1. I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am. ~Joseph Baretti, quoted by James Boswell, 1766, commonly misattributed to Samuel Johnson* (Thank you,

Frank Lynch of SamuelJohnson.com)

1.

Work in pairs, read the following quotations, select at least three of them, discuss their

meaning, organize the presentation (15 minutes)

Make a presentation to the class using the following prompts:

1. Decide what each quotation means

2. Decide whether you agree with it or not and why

3. Decide what description of man is given in “your” quotations

4. Use one or more adjectives to define each selected quotation.

(max 5 minutes for each group)

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2. The human species is made up of seven billion subspecies each consisting of one specimen. ~Robert Brault, http://www.robertbrault.com/ esemplare

3. Man is harder than rock and more fragile than an egg. ~Yugoslav Proverb

4. That in man which cannot be domesticated is not his evil but his goodness. ~Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin

5. Man is the only creature that refuses to be what he is. ~Albert Camus

6. A human being: an ingenious assembly of portable plumbing. ~Christopher Morley, Human Being piombatura

7. The true man walks the earth as the stars walk the heavens, grandly obedient to those laws which are implanted in his nature. ~Lemuel K. Washburn, Is The Bible Worth Reading And Other Essays, 1911

8. The universe may have a purpose, but nothing we know suggests that, if so, this purpose has any similarity to ours. ~Bertrand Russell

9. Man is rated the highest animal, at least among all animals who returned the questionnaire. ~Robert Brault, http://www.robertbrault.com/

10. Ocean: A body of water occupying two-thirds of a world made for man - who has no gills. ~Ambrose Bierce branchie

11. Man is harder than iron, stronger than stone and more fragile than a rose. ~Turkish Proverb

12. In nature a repulsive caterpillar turns into a lovely butterfly. But with humans it is the other way around: a lovely butterfly turns into a repulsive caterpillar. ~Anton Chekhov

13. Man is an intelligence in servitude to his organs. ~Aldous Huxley

14. We are perverse creatures and never satisfied. ~Nan Fairbrother

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15. Modern man is the missing link between apes and human beings. ~Author Unknown

16. Human consciousness arose but a minute before midnight on the geological clock. Yet we mayflies try to bend an ancient world to our purposes, ignorant perhaps of the messages buried in its long history. Let us hope that we are still in the early morning of our April day. ~Stephen Jay Gould, "Our Allotted Lifetimes," The Panda's Thumb, 1980

17. Such is the human race, often it seems a pity that Noah... didn't miss the boat. ~Mark Twain

18. There are too many people, and too few human beings. ~Robert Zend

19. It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore scimmia/primate

20. Only on paper has humanity yet achieved glory, beauty, truth, knowledge, virtue, and abiding love. ~George Bernard Shaw costante

21. The disastrous history of our species indicates the futility of all attempts at a diagnosis which do not take into account the possibility that homo sapiens is a victim of one of evolution's countless mistakes. ~Arthur Koestler, Janus: A Summing Up

22. Men! The only animal in the world to fear. ~D.H. Lawrence

23. The chief obstacle to the progress of the human race is the human race. ~Don Marquis

24. Man embraces in his makeup all the natural orders; he's a squid, a mollusk, a sucker and a buzzard; sometimes he's a cerebrate. ~Martin H. Fischer poiana

25. Men are cruel, but Man is kind. ~Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds, 1916

26. Humanity is on the march, earth itself is left behind. ~David Ehrenfeld, The Arrogance of Humanism, 1978

27. Human nature, if healthy, demands excitement; and if it does not obtain its thrilling excitement in the right way, it will seek it in the

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wrong. God never makes bloodless stoics; He makes no passionless saints. ~Oswald Chambers

28. Cabbage: a familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man's head. ~Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

29. Monkeys are superior to men in this: When a monkey looks into a mirror, he sees a monkey. ~Malcolm de Chazal

30. It is human nature to stand in the middle of a thing. ~Mariane Moore, "A Grave," Collected Poems, 1951

31. The human race is a race of cowards; and I am not only marching in that procession but carrying a banner. ~Mark Twain, "Reflections on Being the Delight of God."

32. Adam ate the apple, and our teeth still ache. ~Hungarian Proverb

33. Why was man created on the last day? So that he can be told, when pride possesses him: God created the gnat before thee. ~The Talmud

34. Man - a creature made at the end of the week's work when God was tired. ~Mark Twain

35. I sometimes think that God in creating man somewhat overestimated His ability. ~Oscar Wilde

36. God pulled an all-nighter on the sixth day. ~Author Unknown tirare tuta la notte

37. Zoo: An excellent place to study the habits of human beings. ~Evan Esar

38. Man - a being in search of meaning. ~Plato

39. The more humanity advances, the more it is degraded. ~Gustave Flaubert

40. Nothing feebler does earth nurture than man, nutrire Of all things breathing and moving. ~Homer, Odyssey

41. Everyone is as God made him, and often a good deal worse. ~Miguel de Cervantes

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42. Man is a strange animal, he doesn't like to read the handwriting on the wall until his back is up against it. ~Adlai Stevenson

43. It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil spirit of man. ~Albert Einstein

44. God doesn't measure His bounty, but oh how we do! ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966 generosità

45. The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness. ~Joseph Conrad, Under Western Eyes, 1911 malvagità

46. The human race is governed by its imagination. ~Napoleon

47. Man uses his intelligence less in the care of his own species than he does in his care of anything else he owns or governs. ~Abraham Meyerson

48. Human beings cling to their delicious tyrannies and to their exquisite nonsense, till death stares them in the face. ~Sydney Smith aggrapparsi

49. The small percentage of dogs that bite people is monumental proof that the dog is the most benign, forgiving creature on earth. ~W.R. Koehler, The Koehler Method of Dog Training

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Activity 2

• Work in pairs, observe the following images of two different monsters, the Leviathan and the Behemoth, describe their features, stress what makes

them similar or different, organise the presentation

(15 minutes)

• Make a presentation to the class using the following prompts:

1. What is the Leviathan like?

2. What is the Behemoth like?

3. What meanings could be attributed to each monster?

4. Would you define these meanings as political?

(about 5 minutes per pair)

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Image 1: Frontispiece of the Leviathan of Thomas Hobbes (1651)

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Image 2: The Destruction of the Leviathan (Bible)

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Image 3: LEVIATHAN

Image 4: The Strength of the Leviathan

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Image 5: Behemoth

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Image 6:

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Images 7-8 : The “ Behemoth” Metal Group

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Useful words for the description of the images

stormy sea: mare in tempesta

symbols of power: simboli del potere

huge jaws: enormi fauci

strong armor: possente corazza

dragon: drago

mane: criniera

long tail provided with spines: lunga coda

fornita di aculei

claws: artigli

powerful fangs: potenti zanne

to make a tongue: fare le linguacce

high forehead: fronte spaziosa

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scepter : scettro

tiara: tiara

concistory: concistoro

symbols of the forces of heaven and hell:

simboli delle forze celesti e infernali

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Activity 3 - Assignment

TEXT 2.

Leviathan according to the Bible

A transliterated Hebrew word (livyathan), meaning "twisted," "coiled." In Job 3:8.

It denotes the dragon which, according to Eastern tradition, is an enemy of light; in 41:1 the crocodile is meant; in Psalms 104:26 it "denotes any large animal that moves by writhing or wriggling the body, the whale, the monsters of the deep." This word is also used figuratively for a cruel enemy, as some think "the Egyptian host, crushed by the divine power, and cast on the shores of the Red Sea" ( Psalms 74:14 ). As used in Isaiah 27:1 , "leviathan the piercing [RSV 'swift'] serpent, even leviathan that crooked [RSV marg. 'winding'] serpent," the word may probably denote the two empires, the Assyrian and the Babylonian.

Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil —

commonly referred to as Leviathan — is a book written by Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) and published in 1651. Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan. The work concerns the structure of society and legitimate government, and is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory.

Students at home: read the following texts, identify keywords, write short definitions of each

keyword

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Leviathan ranks as a classic western work on statecraft comparable to Machiavelli's The Prince. Written during the English Civil War (1642–1651), Leviathan argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign. Hobbes wrote that civil war and the brute situation of a state of nature ("the war of all against all") could only be avoided by strong undivided government.

TEXT 3.

BEHEMOTH IN THE BIBLE:

The word ‘Behemoth’ (Job 40:15) is literally a plural form of a common Old Testament (OT) word meaning ‘beast’. However, practically all commentators and translators have agreed that here we have an intensive or majestic plural, so that the meaning is something like ‘colossal beast’. This case is similar to the word ‘Elohim’ (the most common name of God in the OT), which is actually a majestic plural form, but is always used with a singular verbal form, just as is encountered in this passage. Also, we read in verse 19 that Behemoth was the ‘chief of the ways of God’, which suggests that Behemoth was one of the largest (if not the largest) of God’s creatures.

There are basically three animals that have been put forward as candidates for Behemoth which we will consider in this paper: the elephant, the hippopotamus, and some type of dinosaur.

BEHEMOTH ACCORDING TO HOBBES:

In Behemoth, Hobbes shows his readers that an ideological dispute concerning politics and religion was the root cause of the English Civil War. The work begins with a simple question: How did King Charles I, a strong and capable leader, lose the sovereign power that he held by the legal right of succession? The initial answer is that the King lost control of the kingdom because he lacked the financial resources required to maintain a military. Upon further consideration, however, Hobbes reveals that a deeper cause of conflict was the fact that the “people were corrupted” by “seducers” to accept opinions and beliefs contrary to social and political harmony. Hobbes claims that religious leaders were mostly to blame for creating dissension in the

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commonwealth because they are responsible for the dissemination of politically dangerous beliefs. In addition, Hobbes placed some of the blame on Aristotle or, more precisely, on religious and political leaders who misused Aristotelian ideas to their own advantage. As noted above, Hobbes had suggested the dangerous consequences of religious fervor in his translation of Thucydides. In Behemoth, religious leaders directly bear the brunt (sopportare il peso) of his critical remarks. According to Hobbes, religious leaders sow disorder by creating situations of divided loyalty between God and King

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GLOBAL PHASE

UNIT 1: THE RIGHT OF NATURE AND THE LAWS OF NATURE CONSIDERED DIFFERENT

BY THOMAS HOBBES

LESSON 2 (2 hours)

Activity 1

TEXT 4.

THE CONCEPT OF NATURAL AND CIVIL LAW IN THE MODERN AGE WITH REGARDS TO THE IDEA OF INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM.

Read the Introduction (Text 4) individually

• Work in pairs in order to

1. underline the main issues of our study

2. match the words with the right definitions: the state of nature according to Thomas Hobbes and John Locke

3. decide whether Hobbes’s perspective could be defined as “intellectualistic” or “pertaining to the Will”

(20 Minutes)

4. discuss point 3 with the class

(10 Minutes)

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INTRODUCTION

Gigliola Rossini

Reflecting on human nature showed the importance of our self- determination and the capacity to take decisions on life and death.

Do we have free Will? Is human nature determined by Nature?

To what extent do society and the State preserve or strengthen our freedom?

We would try to find answers to these and other more specific matters through pieces of writings by two of the most important philosophers of the Modern Age: Thomas Hobbes and John Locke.

By “Will” (Latin “voluntas”) we mean the activity of our mind that operates conscious choices aimed at fulfilling a goal. The exercise of Will, together with Intellect, is the man spiritual activity and the relationship between Will and Intellect is one of the most important theme of philosophical reflection. Philosophical theories that put more emphasis on the activity of knowledge could be defined as “intellectualistic” (Italian “intellettualistiche”) because they consider that the Intellect creates the contents and aim of the Will. On the other hand philosophies that attribute a primary role to Will, because they consider that it is able to take decisions independently of the Intellect, could be defined “pertaining to the Will” (Italian “volontaristiche”). In the Modern Age, the materialistic view of reality means that Man, being a body, is part of Nature and therefore subject to determinism that leaves no room for freedom.

According to Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), Man is part of a universe made of matter and is incapable of self-determination. The only freedom for Man consists of doing whatever he wants wherein there is no impediment to doing so. John Locke (1632-1704) takes up Hobbes’ thesis, saying that it is only Freedom of Action which exists and not Freedom of Will .

We will first examine the role of Will in the political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679).

Unlike Aristotle, Hobbes does not allow mankind to have a tendency for living in a social dimension and, in contrast to Grotius’ theory of natural law, he thinks that the state of nature is only regulated by the right of the strongest. From such a perspective “pactum unionis” and “pactum subjectionis” coincide because Man is driven by fear and the

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need for certainty and he gives up the use of his own strength to draw up a social contract whereby each individual yields all power to the Sovereign. In the Commonwealth natural rights to life and self preservation are not alienated, but they could be achieved better through political power. This means that one’s right to life cannot be decided by civil law. This is a strong limitation to political power even in Hobbes’ absolutist perspective of the State.

John Locke (1632-1704) has a more optimistic perspective on the human condition and believes that the state of nature has its own rationality and man is enriched by all his rights within it. In contrast to Thomas Hobbes, Locke believes that the constitution of the State implies only partial alienation of freedom. Therefore an individualist and “atomistic” society arises from a social contract and the State guarantees individual rights to freedom and private property.

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Activity 2

TEXT 5.

READING MATERIALS

From “Leviathan” by Thomas Hobbes

As used by Thomas Hobbes in his treatises Leviathan and De Cive, natural law is "a precept, or general rule, found out by reason, by which a man is forbidden to do that which is destructive of his life, or takes away the means of preserving the same; and to omit that by which he thinks it may best be preserved."

According to Hobbes, there are nineteen Laws. The first two are expounded in chapter XIV of Leviathan ("of the first and second natural laws; and of contracts"); the others in chapter XV ("of other laws of nature").

• Read the text from Leviathan (Text 2) individually

• Work in pairs in order to

1. Choose the correct answer from the options below

2. Copy the complete correct sentence into your notebook.

(30 Minutes)

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The first Law of nature is that every man ought to endeavour peace (PAX EST QUAERENDA), as far as he has hope of obtaining it; and when he cannot obtain it, that he may seek and use all helps and advantages of war.

The second Law of nature is that a man be willing, when others are so too, as far forth, as for peace, and defence of himself he

shall think it necessary, to lay down this right to all things(IUS IN OMNIA EST RETINENDUM ); and be contented with so much liberty against other men, as he would allow other men against himself.

The third Law is that men perform their covenants made (PACTIS STANDUM) . In this law of nature consisteth the fountain and original of justice... when a covenant is made, then to break it is unjust and the definition of injustice is no other than the not performance of covenant. And whatsoever is not unjust is just.

The fourth Law is that a man which receiveth benefit from another of mere grace, endeavour that he which giveth it, have no reasonable cause to repent him of his good will. Breach of this law is called ingratitude.

The fifth Law is complaisance: that every man strive to accommodate himself to the rest. The observers of this law may be called sociable; the contrary, stubborn, insociable, froward, intractable.

The sixth Law is that upon caution of the future time, a man ought to pardon the offences past of them that repenting, desire it.

The seventh Law is that in revenges, men look not at the greatness of the evil past, but the greatness of the good to follow.

The eighth Law is that no man by deed, word, countenance, or gesture, declare hatred or contempt of another. The breach of which law is commonly called contumely.

The ninth Law is that every man acknowledge another for his equal by nature. The breach of this precept is pride.

The tenth law is that at the entrance into the conditions of peace, no man require to reserve to himself any right, which he is not content should be reserved to every one of the rest. The breach of this precept is arrogance, and observers of the precept are called modest.

The eleventh law is that if a man be trusted to judge between man and man, that he deal equally between them.

The twelfth law is that such things as cannot be divided, be enjoyed in common, if it can be; and if the quantity of the thing permit, without stint; otherwise proportionably to the number of them that have right.

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The thirteenth law is the entire right, or else...the first possession (in the case of alternating use), of a thing that can neither be divided nor enjoyed in common should be determined by lottery. (SORTE)

The fourteenth law is that those things which cannot be enjoyed in common, nor divided, ought to be adjudged to the first possessor ; ( DIRITTO DI PRIMOGENITURA) and in some cases to the first born, as acquired by lot.

The fifteenth law is that all men that mediate peace be allowed safe conduct. (SALVACONDOTTO)

The sixteenth law is that they that are at controversie, submit their Right to the judgement of an Arbitrator.

The seventeenth law is that no man is a fit Arbitrator in his own cause.

The eighteenth law is that no man should serve as a judge in a case if greater profit, or honour, or pleasure apparently ariseth [for him] out of the victory of one party, than of the other. (NESSUNO E’ GIUDICE DI SE STESSO)

The nineteenth law is that in a disagreement of fact, the judge should not give more weight to the testimony of one party than another, and absent other evidence, should give credit to the testimony of other witnesses. (RUOLO DELLA TESTIMONIANZA)

General Comment

Hobbes's philosophy includes a frontal assault on the founding

principles of the earlier natural legal tradition, disregarding the

traditional association of virtue with happiness, and likewise re-

defining "law" to remove any notion of the promotion of the common

good. Hobbes has no use for Aristotle's association of nature with

human perfection, inverting Aristotle's use of the word "nature."

Hobbes posits a primitive, unconnected state of nature in which men,

having a "natural proclivity...to hurt each other" also have "a Right to

everything, even to one anothers body"; and "nothing can be Unjust"

in this "warre of every man against every man" in which human life is

"solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short.

Choose the correct answer from the options below and copy the full sentence into your notebook.

a. What are the Laws of nature according to Hobbes?

1. moral obligations

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2. commands by God

3. rules dictated by reason

b. The first Law of nature suggests that we “endeavour peace” because

1. we experience danger in the state of nature

2. we are benevolent towards others

3. we recognise the moral meaning of peace.

c. The Laws of nature for Hobbes

1. are binding on all men

2. leave every man to his total independence

3. guide man to give life to the Civil State

d. Which of the following Laws of nature have a meaning similar to that set out by the second Law?

1. The eighth and the eighteenth

2. The tenth and the sixteenth

3. The fourteenth and the nineteenth

e. The third Law of nature is effective

1. already in the state of nature

2. only in the Civil State

3. never

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Activity 3

gigantic human form

Commonwealth contract

artificial civil protecting

Hebrew subjects mimics

can be deduced is modeled philosophy

mankind indisputable defense

frontispiece sovereign contains

TEXT 6.

LEVIATHAN

Summary

Leviathan rigorously argues that--------- (1) peace and social unity are best achieved by the establishment of a ------------ (2) through social ---------- (3). Hobbes's ideal commonwealth is ruled by a ------------- (4) power responsible for -------------- (5) the security of the commonwealth and granted absolute authority to ensure the common ------------ (6). In his introduction, Hobbes describes this commonwealth as an "-------------- (7) person" and as a body politic that ---------- (8) the human body. The ----------------- (9) to the first edition of Leviathan, which Hobbes helped design, portrays the commonwealth as a ----------------------------(10) built out of the bodies of its citizens, the sovereign as its head. Hobbes calls this figure the "Leviathan," a word derived from the ----------------(11) for "sea monster" and the name of a monstrous sea creature appearing in the Bible; the image constitutes the definitive metaphor for Hobbes's

Read text 6, work in pairs and complete the gaps (1-18) with the words or phrases

given below.

(20 minutes)

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perfect government. His text attempts to prove the necessity of the Leviathan for preserving peace and preventing civil war.

Leviathan is divided into four books: "Of Man," "Of Common-wealth," "Of a Christian Common-wealth," and "Of the Kingdome of Darknesse." Book I --------------(12) the philosophical framework for the entire text, while the remaining books simply extend and elaborate the arguments presented in the initial chapters. Consequently, Book I is given the most attention in the detailed summaries that follow. Hobbes begins his text by considering the elementary motions of matter, arguing that every aspect of human nature -------------------------(13) from materialist principles. Hobbes depicts the natural condition of ------------------ (14), known as the state of nature, as inherently violent and awash with fear. The state of nature is the "war of every man against every man," in which people constantly seek to destroy one another. This state is so horrible that human beings naturally seek peace, and the best way to achieve peace is to construct the Leviathan through social contract.

Book II details the process of erecting the Leviathan, outlines the rights of sovereigns and ---------------(15), and imagines the legislative and civil mechanics of the commonwealth. Book III concerns the compatibility of Christian doctrine with Hobbesian --------------------(16) and the religious system of the Leviathan. Book IV engages in debunking false religious beliefs and arguing that the political implementation of the Leviathanic state is necessary to achieve a secure Christian commonwealth.

Hobbes's philosophical method in Leviathan ------------------(17) after a geometric proof, founded upon first principles and established definitions, and in which each step of argument makes conclusions based upon the previous step. Hobbes decided to create a philosophical method similar to the geometric proof after meeting Galileo on his extended travels in Europe during the 1630s. Observing that the conclusions derived by geometry are indisputable because each of constituent steps is ---------------------(18) in itself, Hobbes attempted to work out a similarly irrefutable philosophy in his writing of Leviathan.

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Activity 4 - Assignment

TEXT 7.

LEVIATHAN by THOMAS HOBBES “Introduction”

NATURE (the art whereby God hath made and governs the world) is by the art of man, as in many other things, so in this also imitated, that it can make an artificial animal. For seeing life is but a motion of limbs, the beginning whereof is in some principal part within, why may we not say that all automata (engines that move themselves by springs and wheels as doth a watch) have an artificial life? For what is the heart, but a spring; and the nerves, but so many strings; and the joints, but so many wheels, giving motion to the whole body, such as was intended by the Artificer? Art goes yet further, imitating that rational and most excellent work of Nature, man. For by art is created that great LEVIATHAN called a COMMONWEALTH, or STATE (in Latin, CIVITAS), which is but an artificial man, though of greater stature and strength than the natural, for whose protection and defence it was intended; the and in which the sovereignty is an artificial soul, as giving life and motion to whole body; the magistrates and other officers of judicature and

execution, artificial joints; reward and punishment (by which fastened to the seat of the sovereignty, every joint and member is moved to perform his duty) are the nerves, that do the same in the body natural; the wealth and riches of all the particular members are the strength; salus populi (the people's safety) its business; counsellors, by whom all things needful for it to know are suggested

Read text 7,

then write a summary of about 100 words

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unto it, are the memory; equity and laws, an artificial reason and will; concord, health; sedition, sickness; and civil war, death. Lastly, the pacts and covenants, by which the parts of this body politic were at first made, set together, and united, resemble that fiat, or the Let us make man, pronounced by God in the Creation.

limbs: membra

joints: giunture

reward and punishment: punizione e

ricompensa

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GLOBAL PHASE

UNIT 2: THE RIGHT OF NATURE AND THE LAWS OF NATURE CONSIDERED THE SAME

BY JOHN LOCKE

LESSON 3 (2 hours)

Activity 1

Discussion of the homework

Activity 2

Activity 3

• Read all parts of text 8

• divide the text into paragraphs using headings and subheadings

• underline keywords / concepts using different colours

(25 minutes)

• Discussion on Locke’s idea of Private Property as a Right of Nature

• While listening students are asked to take notes of the main concepts or keywords that they understand and then compare their

comprehension.

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TEXT 8.

The Second Treatise of Civil Government 1690

By John Locke

CHAP. II.

Of the State of Nature

Sec. 4. TO understand political power right, and derive it from its

original, we must consider, what state all men are naturally in , and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature, without asking leave, or depending upon the will of any other man.

A state also of equality, wherein all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another; there being nothing more evident, than that creatures of the same species and rank, promiscuously born to all the same advantages of nature, and the use of the same faculties, should also be equal one amongst another without subordination or subjection, unless the lord and master of them all should, by any manifest declaration of his will, set one above another, and confer on him, by an evident and clear appointment, an undoubted right to dominion and sovereignty.

(…)

Sec. 6. But though this be a state of liberty, yet it is not a state of licence: though man in that state have an uncontroulable liberty to dispose of his person or possessions, yet he has not liberty to destroy himself, or so much as any creature in his

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possession, but where some nobler use than its bare preservation

calls for it. The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions: for men being all the workmanship of one omnipotent, and infinitely wise maker; all the servants of one sovereign master, sent into the world by his order, and about his business; they are his property, whose workmanship they are, made to last during his, not one another's pleasure: and being furnished with like faculties, sharing all in one community of nature, there cannot be supposed any such subordination among us, that may authorize us to destroy one another, as if we were made for one another's uses, as the inferior ranks of

creatures are for our's. Every one, as he is bound to preserve himself, and not to quit his station wilfully, so by the

like reason, when his own preservation comes not in competition, ought he, as much as he can, to preserve the rest of mankind, and may not, unless it be to do justice on an offender, take away, or impair the life, or what tends to the preservation of the life, the liberty, health, limb (arto),goods (…)

TEXT 9.

Read all parts of text 8

• divide the text into paragraphs using headings and subheadings

• underline keywords / concepts using different colours

(25 minutes)

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CHAP. VII.

Of Political or Civil Society

Sec. 87. Man being born, as has been proved, with a title to perfect freedom, and an uncontrouled enjoyment of all the rights and privileges of the law of nature, equally with any other man, or number of men in the world, hath by nature a power, not only to preserve his property, that is, his life, liberty and estate, against the injuries and attempts of other men; but to judge of, and punish the breaches of that law in others, as he is persuaded the offence deserves, even with death itself, in crimes where the heinousness of the fact, in

his opinion, requires it. But because no political society can be, nor subsist, without having in itself the power to preserve the property, and in order thereunto, punish the offences of all those of that society; there, and there only is political society, where every one of the members hath quitted this natural power, resigned it up into the hands of the community in all cases that exclude him not from appealing for protection to the law established by it. And thus all private judgment of every particular member being excluded, the community comes to be umpire, by settled standing rules, indifferent, and the same to all parties; and by men having authority from the community, for the execution of those rules, decides all the differences that may happen between any members of that society concerning any matter of right; and punishes those offences which any member hath committed against the society, with such penalties as the law has established: whereby it is easy to discern, who are, and who are not, in political

society together. Those who are united into one body, and have a common established law and judicature to appeal to, with authority to decide

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controversies between them, and punish offenders, are in civil society one with another: but those who have no such common appeal, I mean on earth, are still in the state of nature, each being, where there is no other, judge for himself, and executioner; which is, as I have before shewed it, the perfect state of nature.

CHAP. IX.

Of the Ends of Political Society and Government

Sec. 131. But though men, when they enter into society, give up the equality, liberty, and executive power they had in the state of nature, into the hands of the society, to be so far disposed of by the legislative, as the good

of the society shall require; yet it being only with an intention in every one the better to preserve himself, his liberty and property; (for no rational creature can be supposed to change his condition with an intention to be worse) the power of the society, or legislative constituted by them, can never be supposed to extend farther, than the common good; but is obliged to secure every one's property , by providing against those three defects above mentioned, that made the state of nature so unsafe and uneasy. And so whoever has the legislative or supreme power of any common-wealth, is bound to govern by established standing laws, promulgated and known to the people, and not by extemporary decrees; by indifferent and upright judges, who are to decide controversies by those laws; and to employ the force of the community at home, only in the execution of such laws, or abroad to prevent or redress foreign injuries, and secure the community from inroads and invasion. And all this to be directed to no other end, but the peace, safety, and public good of the people.

36

Activity 4 - Assignment

Important Terms

Commonwealth - A multitude of people who together consent to a

sovereign authority, established by contract to have absolute power

over them all, for the purpose of providing peace and common

defense.

Contract - Also called "covenant" or "social contract," contract is

the act of giving up certain natural rights and transferring them to

someone else, on the condition that everyone else involved in making

the contract also simultaneously gives up their rights. People agreeing

to the contract retain only those rights over others that they are content

for everyone else to retain over them.

First Principles - The fundamental and irreducible facts of nature

that are established by philosophical definition and upon which

philosophical arguments may be built. According to Hobbes, first

principles are not discovered by observation or experiment but are

decided by philosophical debate and social consent.

Law of Nature - A general rule discovered by reason that forbids a

person from doing anything destructive to their own life and gives

them the right of self-preservation. The laws of nature state that

human beings must strive for peace, which is best achieved by

contract.

Leviathan - A metaphor for the state, the Leviathan is described as

an artificial person whose body is made up of all the bodies of its

citizens, who are the literal members of the Leviathan's body. The

head of the Leviathan is the sovereign. The Leviathan is constructed

through contract by people in the state of nature in order to escape the

• Students at home: read the following

text, identify keywords, write a short

definition of each keyword.

37

horrors of this natural condition. The power of the Leviathan protects

them from the abuses of one another.

Materialism - The philosophy of materialism states that physical

matter and its motion explain all phenomena in the universe and

construct the only reality that human beings can experience.

Natural History - The collection of natural objects, organisms,

phenomena, and facts gathered by observation.

Natural Man - An inhabitant of the state of nature. Natural men are

the main characters of the narrative within Hobbes's text, who escape

from their natural condition by making a contract with each other to

engineer the Leviathan. Although they are "men," the term also

includes women (though the gender significance of this term should

not be entirely ignored).

Natural Philosophy - Natural philosophy is the study of nature and

the physical universe, and was the intellectual endeavor that

eventually led to the historical development of modern science.

Natural philosophers such as Francis Bacon and Robert Boyle

believed that natural philosophy should derive inductively the

workings of nature from natural history. Hobbes believed that natural

philosophy should derive deductively the workings of nature from

established first principles.

Plenum - Hobbes used the term "plenum" to refer to his conception

of the universe; according to this conception, the universe is wholly

material in nature, making possible the condition of a vacuum in

space. The assumption that the universe is a plenum is an important

aspect of Hobbes's materialism.

Sovereign - The person, or group of persons, endowed with

sovereignty by the social contract. The sovereign is the head of the

Leviathan, the maker of laws, the judge of first principles, the

foundation of all knowledge, and the defender of civil peace.

Sovereignty - Supreme authority over a commonwealth. Sovereignty

is owed complete obedience by its subjects. Hobbes describes

sovereignty as the soul of the Leviathan.

State of Nature - The "natural condition of mankind" is what would

exist if there were no government, no civilization, no laws, and no

38

common power to restrain human nature. The state of nature is a "war

of all against all," in which human beings constantly seek to destroy

each other in an incessant pursuit for power. Life in the state of nature

is "nasty, brutish and short."

39

ANALYTICAL PHASE.

Activities for UNIT 1 and UNIT 2

LESSON 4(1 hour)

Activity 1

Checking and discussing homework

Activity 2

• Work in pairs on the material analysed during all CLIL lessons,

try to compare/ summarise/discuss your information

• Organise a presentation that takes into account your answers to the following questions:

1. Did the state of nature ever exist?

2. What is the state of nature? Has it got historical meaning?

3. Does it mean a positive or negative condition for mankind?

4. What is the Right of nature?

5. What are the Laws of nature? Do they have any specific content? Are they binding? In what sense?

6. What is the most important Natural Law according to Hobbes, to Locke, ad to … you?

7. Is there any “Right of Revolution” from the Hobbesean and Lockean perspective?

8. Is the division of powers positive according to the authors that you have studied?

• add other points that you consider relevant to the discussion strategies

(50 minutes)

40

SUMMING-UP PHASE

Activities for UNIT 1 and UNIT 2

LESSON 4 (1 hour)

Activity 1

Activity 2

After the teacher has presented a power point summary of the concepts and structures typical of political absolutism and liberal thinking, work in pairs to carry out the following task:

build a concept map that sums up the entire path done, selecting the information

The class group works on the writing of a storyboard for the production of a final digital object in moviemaker or in

another similar programme.

41

PHASE OF TESTING

Activities for UNIT 1 and UNIT 2

LESSON 5 (2 hours)

Activity 1

FINAL TEST (30 minutes)

1. Hobbes believed that human behaviour:

a. is naturally evil

b. is naturally good

c. is naturally neither good nor evil but determined by society

d. is naturally selfish

2. According to Hobbes, in the “state of nature”:

a. man is moved to action only by his passions

b. reason gives man rules for taking decisions

c. man is not able to use “instrumental reason”

d. small human communities are able to establish positive laws

3. Through the social pact, which gives life to the State, citizens:

a. delegate the exercise of executive power to the sovereign

b. decide that sovereignty must be exercised by a monarch

c. assign all their rights to the sovereign

d. waive all their rights in favour of the sovereign, except the right to

life and to guarantee safety.

42

4. Locke believed that the purpose for which the State was born

was:

a. to prevent the “war of all against all”

b. to ensure equal welfare for all citizens

c. to put an end to the “war of all against all”

d. to offer equal opportunities to those who are born at a social

disavantage

5.Locke thought that:

a. The State may impose uniformity of worship for social reasons,

even though it should not impose the faith

b. the State should not punish any behaviour that has a religious origin

c. the State should not cannot intervene against any position that does

not concern social and civic life

d. faith is a matter which concerns a community of believers and God

and it is regulated accordingly.

CORRECTION GRID:

mistakes mark

0 9

1 8

2 7

3 6

4 5

43

Activity 2

During the remaining time, (about 80 minutes), students should work to the final production of their digital product ( CD)

44

Self-assessment

Philosophy English B2

Exceptional

Good Borderline

Weak

The student shows

understandi

ng of philosophical concepts

and procedures

The

student

shows a

deep

understand

ing of

philosophi

cal

concepts

and

procedures

The

understand

ing is

simple and

correct

The

understand

ing is

attempted

but it is not

complete

The

understandi

ng is often

incorrect

and

incomplete

demonstrates

reasoning

skills

uses an

efficient

strategy

that leads

directly to

a correct

solution;

makes

relevant

philosophi

cal

observatio

ns

uses a

good

strategy

that leads

to a correct

solution;

makes

correct

comments

Some

informatio

n for

solution is

provided,

but the

solution is

incomplete

; although

some

comments

are correct

the

reasoning

as a whole

is not

consistent

No

evidence of

appropriate

strategy.

Many

errors in the

conceptual

procedures.

can organise a presentatio

The

presentatio

n is very

The

presentatio

n is clear

The

presentatio

n is not

The

presentation

is not

45

n to the class

working in a group

clear and

well-

organised;

rich

variety of

texts and

pictures

are used as

well as

concept

maps

and well-

organised;

the

selection

of

materials

adequate

always

clear; the

selection

of

materials

poor

consistent ;

the

selection of

material not

always

related to

the topics

can select information from given

texts

The

selection

of extracts

is very

significant

of key

concept

The

selection

of extracts

is

significant

of key

concepts

The

selection

of extracts

is not

always

significant

of key

concepts

The

selection of

extracts is

rarely

significant

of key

concepts

can answer questions

Answers

the

questions

matching

the issues

very

effectively

Answer

the

questions

basically

matching

the issues

Answer

the

questions

not always

matching

the issues

Answer the

questions

not

recognising

the issues

can write summaries and reports

Writes

summaries

and reports

using a

variety of

words and

concepts

accurately

and

appropriate

ly

Writes

summaries

and reports

using a

variety of

words and

concepts

appropriate

ly

Writes

summaries

and reports

showing

lack of

accuracy

and variety

Writes

summaries

and reports

inaccurately

and

inappropriat

ely

46

is capable of

problematizing a topic

Discovers

links

within the

whole

philosophi

cal

tradition

Finds

fundament

al links

with the

philosophi

cal

tradition

Finds a

few links

with the

philosophi

cal

tradition

Cannot find

links with

the

philosophic

al tradition