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).
In Leviathan itself, Hobbes speaks of 'a war [...] of every man against every man', but the Latin phrase occurs in De Cive:
Later on, a slightly modified version is presented in Libertas (liberty):
The thoug...
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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).
In Leviathan itself, Hobbes speaks of 'a war [...] of every man against every man', but the Latin phrase occurs in De Cive:
Later on, a slightly modified version is presented in Libertas (liberty):
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...
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