In the previous chapters, Hobbes has laid out a general case for how humans come to live in society, namely, that they are driven to it by fear. In order to have a more thorough picture of how society comes about, Hobbes directs his attention to human nature, so that we can precisely understand how humans go from this state of nature to society. As has already been noted, people are constantly moved by appetites and aversions, and as such, have certain ends in mind which they strive to attain. Since one or more men may desire the same end (for example, food or shelter), they are in a constant state of conflict and competition with one another. If man's appetites were finite this would not be so problematic, but as Hobbes argued in the above chapters, we are never satisfied with any amount of power (the means to attain certain ends), and are thus always in a constant power struggle with others.
While it may seem that in such a state of nature the strong would naturally triumph over......
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