The Nature of Hobbesian Morality

Abstract

Since morality affects all members of a society regardless of intelligence or education it must rest on a few ideas that are simple enough for nearly everyone to grasp even if he or she cannot explain their logical relationships. The concept most central to Hobbes’s moral system is that of personal commitment. If someone else tells me to do something that I am under no obligation to do, I may refuse to do it without any blame attaching to me. I am a free agent in these circumstances and am beholden to no one. However, if I tell someone that I will do something, if I promise that I will do it if asked, then I am in a different situation. I have placed myself under an obligation by my words and I can no longer refuse to perform the action without being liable to censure. By voluntarily binding myself, I have limited my future freedom of action in the areas specified by the promise.