PROMPT: How does Locke's defense of revolution demonstrate his disagreements with Hobbes's account of the state of nature?
The Topic: Locke’s defense of revolution is rooted in a radically different view of the state of nature than Hobbes’s. While Hobbes sees the natural condition of mankind as a state of fear, insecurity, and selfishness requiring an absolute sovereign, Locke envisions it as a space of relative freedom, governed by reason and natural rights, which people may rightly defend—even against their rulers. Their disagreement over revolution stems from fundamentally opposed beliefs about human nature and the source of legitimate authority.
I've attached all the sources, do not use AI and use mla citation. Make sure you accurately use the sources and prove all claims. this needs to be a high level argumentative essay.
Heres what gpt said about the sources:
🔹 Hobbes – Leviathan
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Chapters 13–15 (pp. 86–112): Hobbes describes the state of nature as a place of constant fear and violence where life is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
👉 Use this to show why Hobbes believes people must give up all rights to a sovereign to avoid chaos. -
Chapter 18 (pp. 135–138): Hobbes says the sovereign has absolute power once people give it up.
👉 Use this to show Hobbes thinks rebellion leads back to civil war. -
Chapter 21 (pp. 145–154): Hobbes says freedom means only what the sovereign allows.
👉 Use this to contrast Hobbes’s view of liberty with Locke’s.
🔹 Locke – Two Treatises of Government
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Second Treatise, pp. 269–302: Locke says people in the state of nature are free and equal, guided by reason and natural law.
👉 Use this to show Locke thinks people can live peacefully without a ruler, unlike Hobbes. -
pp. 318–333: Locke explains why people form governments — to protect life, liberty, and property.
👉 Use this to show that government must have limits and serve the people. -
pp. 350–360: Locke says if government abuses power, the people have a right to overthrow it.
👉 This is Locke’s clear defense of revolution — the exact opposite of Hobbes.
🔹 Noel Malcolm, “Hobbes and Spinoza” (p. 36)
"Hobbes’s theory requires people to renounce not only rights of action but also rights of judgment... only the sovereign can judge what will be necessary for peace in the State." 👉 Use this quote from the prompt to explain Hobbes’s belief in absolute rule, and why he rejects rebellion.
🔹 James Tully, “Placing the Two Treatises”
👉 Use this to add context: Locke wrote after the Glorious Revolution, when overthrowing a king seemed justifiable. This supports why Locke’s theory includes the right to revolution.
and heres what professor expects;
How to do well in history essays
There are some basic criteria which you must demonstrably meet in your written work in order to receive a passing grade:
- Hand it in on time
- Write no less, and no more, than the specified amount
- Format it correctly
- Ensure that it is based both on the relevant primary AND on the secondary sources of the course
- Use the arguments, insights and information provided during class
But there are additional qualities which you need to cultivate as an historian in order to do well on your essay assignments. Here are eight guidelines for writing good papers:
- Before you start any writing, spend a good amount of time considering the language of the question you have chosen to answer. Do NOT think of the questions you are given simply as ‘prompts’. Each question asks you to consider a particular historical problem; each question requires you to respond to the specific terms in which that problem is framed.
- Before writing, plan an outline of the essay. Your answer should have a coherent and logical structure from beginning to end. Its opening should contain an outline of your general argument (some kind of statement of your thesis); it should unfold in progressive stages divided into paragraphs of appropriate length, and it should conclude properly. Good conclusions briefly recapitulate the central points of an argument in order to show that the question has been sufficiently answered; but they often also broaden out – again, briefly - to discuss related historical issues, or point to wider perspectives.
- Each paragraph should be organized around an idea or theme or argument. It should not simply be a chronological narrative of events.
- Every claim you make in your essay should be supported by proof derived principally from primary source material. The primary material is the textual basis of your historical evidence, and it must be cited accordingly.
- In answering the question you have chosen, you will also always be expected to demonstrate knowledge of the secondary historiography you have been set. A capacity to describe the interpretations of the relevant modern historians, and identify the strengths and weakness of their positions and arguments, must be on display. The best answers to historical questions thread a path through existing interpretations in the light of the primary sources.
- Your essays must be informed by the relevant material which is presented to you only in class. Failure to demonstrate learning from class will cost you grade points.
- Clarity of expression is crucial. Complex arguments are often best expressed in lucid, clear statements. If you don’t understand what you are saying on the page, your reader almost certainly won’t; so try to reformulate your thoughts in more straightforward language, if necessary. You will be judged upon your ability not only to communicate your ideas and arguments accurately and grammatically but also fluently. Before turning in your work, read your argument to yourself to see if it flows.
- Never, ever turn in work that you have not properly proof-read. You must try to eliminate all errors of grammar, spelling, and fact before submitting work.