Bellum omnium contra omnes  

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 +'''''Bellum omnium contra omnes''''', a [[Latin language|Latin]] phrase meaning "the war of all against all," is the description that [[Thomas Hobbes]] gives to human existence in the [[state of nature]] [[thought experiment]] that he conducts in ''[[De Cive]]'' (1642) and ''[[Leviathan (book)|Leviathan]]'' (1651).
-'''''Leviathan, The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil''''', commonly called '''''Leviathan''''', is a book written by [[Thomas Hobbes]] which was published in 1651. It is titled after the [[bible|biblical]] [[Leviathan]]. The book concerns the structure of [[society]] and legitimate [[government]], and is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential examples of [[social contract theories|social contract theory]].+==Hobbes' use==
-==Part I: Of Man==+In ''Leviathan'' itself,<ref>Chapter 13</ref> Hobbes speaks of 'a war [...] of every man against every man', but the Latin phrase occurs in ''De Cive'':<ref>Praefatio (preface), section 14</ref>
-In Part I, Hobbes attempts an analysis of society from first principles, beginning with Man and the Senses. He develops this in a sequence of definitions (for example: Imagination is "nothing but decaying sense" and is the same as Memory). He points out the Necessity of Definitions, which is a hint that he is attempting an [[axiomatisation]] of political philosophy in line with the programme of [[geometry]]. He defines various passions in an unsentimental way: e.g. "But whatsoever is the object of any man's appetite or desire, that is it which he for his part calleth '''good'''; and the object of his hate and aversion, '''evil'''; and of his contempt, vile and inconsiderable. For these words of good, evil, and contemptible are ever used with relation to the person that useth them: there being nothing simply and absolutely so; nor any common rule of good and evil to be taken from the nature of the objects themselves…". A whole sequence of such definitions follows (''Appetite'' with an opinion of attaining, is called Hope… ''Honourable'' is whatsoever possession, action, or quality is an argument and sign of power.). [http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/hobbes/leviathan-c.html#CHAPTERXIII Chapter XIII] is an exposition "Of the Natural Condition of Mankind, as concerning their Felicity, and Misery" and contains the famous quotation describing life in the state of [[Bellum omnium contra omnes|war of every man against every man]]:+{{Quote|Ostendo primo conditionem hominum extra societatem civilem (quam conditionem appellare liceat statum naturae) aliam non esse quam bellum omnium contra omnes; atque in eo bello jus esse omnibus in omnia.
-:"the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short"+''I show in the first place that the state of men without civil society (which state may be called the state of nature) is nothing but a war of all against all; and that in that war, all have a right to all things.''}}
-Hobbes finds three basic causes of the conflict in this [[state of nature]]: competition, diffidence and glory. ''The first maketh men invade for gain; the second, for safety; and the third, for reputation''. His first [[law of nature (precept)|law of nature]] is that ''that every man ought to endeavour peace, 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''. In the state of nature, ''every man has a right to every thing, even to one another's body'' but the second law is that, in order to secure the advantages of peace, ''that a man be willing, when others are so too… to lay down this right to all things; and be contented with so much liberty against other men as he would allow other men against himself''. This is the beginning of contracts/covenants; performing of which is the third law of nature. ''Injustice,'' therefore, is failure to perform in a covenant; all else is just. However, Hobbes also posits a primitive form of the inalienable rights—which would later be restated by [[John Locke]]--implying that some covenants may be derived axiomatically, and consequently held to be universally true.+Later on, a slightly modified version is presented in ''Libertas'' (liberty):<ref>Chapter 1, section 12</ref>
 + 
 +{{Quote|[...] Status hominum naturalis antequam in societatem coiretur Bellum fuerit; neque hoc simpliciter, sed bellum omnium in omnes.
 + 
 +''The natural state of men, before they were joined in society, was a war, and not simply, but a war of all against all.''}}
 + 
 +The thought experiment places people in a pre-social condition, and theorizes what would happen in such a condition. According to Hobbes, the outcome is that people choose to enter a [[social contract]], giving up some of their liberties in order to enjoy peace. This thought experiment is a test for the [[legitimacy|legitimation]] of a [[Sovereign state|state]] in fulfilling its role as "[[sovereignty|sovereign]]" to guarantee social order, and for comparing different types of states on that basis.
 + 
 +Hobbes distinguishes between war (‘warre’) and battle: war does not only consist of actual battle; it points to the situation in which one knows there is a ‘will to contend by battle’.<ref>''Leviathan'', Chapter 13</ref>
 + 
 +==Other uses==
 +The phrase is used by [[Karl Marx]] in ''[[On the Jewish Question]]'' when he says "It has become the spirit of civil society, of the sphere of egoism, of the ''bellum omnium contra omnes''."
 + 
 +It was also used by [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] in ''[[On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense]]'':
 +{{Quote|Insofar as the individual wants to preserve himself against other individuals, in a natural state of affairs he employs the intellect mostly for simulation alone. But because man, out of need and boredom, wants to exist socially, herd-fashion, he requires a peace pact and he endeavors to banish at least the very crudest ''bellum omni contra omnes'' from his world.}}
 + 
 +==See also==
 +*[[Social contract theories]]
 +*[[Libertarianism]]
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Bellum omnium contra omnes, a Latin phrase meaning "the war of all against all," is the description that Thomas Hobbes gives to human existence in the state of nature thought experiment that he conducts in De Cive (1642) and Leviathan (1651).

Hobbes' use

In Leviathan itself,<ref>Chapter 13</ref> Hobbes speaks of 'a war [...] of every man against every man', but the Latin phrase occurs in De Cive:<ref>Praefatio (preface), section 14</ref>

Template:Quote

Later on, a slightly modified version is presented in Libertas (liberty):<ref>Chapter 1, section 12</ref>

Template:Quote

The thought experiment places people in a pre-social condition, and theorizes what would happen in such a condition. According to Hobbes, the outcome is that people choose to enter a social contract, giving up some of their liberties in order to enjoy peace. This thought experiment is a test for the legitimation of a state in fulfilling its role as "sovereign" to guarantee social order, and for comparing different types of states on that basis.

Hobbes distinguishes between war (‘warre’) and battle: war does not only consist of actual battle; it points to the situation in which one knows there is a ‘will to contend by battle’.<ref>Leviathan, Chapter 13</ref>

Other uses

The phrase is used by Karl Marx in On the Jewish Question when he says "It has become the spirit of civil society, of the sphere of egoism, of the bellum omnium contra omnes."

It was also used by Friedrich Nietzsche in On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense: Template:Quote

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Bellum omnium contra omnes" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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