Journal of the History of Philosophy

Two Concepts of Moral Goodness in Hobbes's Ethics TERRENCE F. ACKERMAN THE MORAL THEORY OF THOMAS HOBBES suggests two significantly different views concerning the ground of the moral goodness of actions? In the first section of my paper, I substantiate this claim through a brief survey and analysis of some important passages in Hobbes's writings. In the middle portion of the paper, I consider how Hobbes attempts to bridge these disparate concepts, using his theory of sovereign representation as the vehicle. In the last section, I evaluate the logical adequacy of Hobbes's project. I. Close scrutiny of Hobbes's moral writings reveals two concepts of the moral goodness of actions. On one hand, Hobbes maintains that those actions are morally good which contribute to the preservation and general well-being of the agent. If a certain kind of action has such consequences, then it is enjoined by the natural law. Thus Hobbes writes that a law of nature "is a precept, or general rule, found out by reason, by which a man is forbidden to do that, which is destructive of his life, or taketh away the means of preserving the same.... -2 Hobbes makes two important claims concerning these laws. First, he argues that a rule is a law of nature because it specifies the kinds of action which are conducive to self-preservation. For example, he writes that "the laws of nature are immutable and eternal.... For it can never be that war shall preserve life, and peace destroy it. ''3 The laws of nature remain unchangeable because it will never be the case that peace (which the natural law commands) fails to secure self-preservation. This claim makes sense only if Hobbes maintains that the ground of a law of nature is the conduciveness to self-preservation of the kind of action which it commands. Secondly, Hobbes claims that the natural law dictates those kinds of action that are morally good. In chapter 15 of Leviathan, he asserts that "the true doctrine of the laws of nature, is the true moral philosophy.''4 Consequently, Hobbes's account suggests the following concept of the moral goodness of an action x, which I shall call "natural moral goodness": (1) x has natural moral goodness if and only if x contributes to the selfpreservation of the agent performing x. 1 As I use the phrase in this paper, an action is morallygood if it is morally obligatory that it be performed. Thus, when I speak of the ground of the moral goodness of an action, I mean to refer to the basis upon which it is determined to be morally obligatory. 2 Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, in English Works of Thomas Hobbes, ed. Sir William Molesworth , 11 vols. (London, 1839-1845), III, 116--117. Hereafter, references made to the works of Hobbes are to this edition. 3 Ibid., p. 145. Ibid., p. 146. [415] 416 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY This characterization of the moral goodness of an action has two important features. First, it is a strictly teleological characterization. By a teleological theory of moral goodness , I mean a theory which characterizes the moral goodness of an act solely by reference to its efficacy in producing certain consequences or states of affairs. In the present case, the moral goodness of an act is specified by reference to its efficacy in contributing to that state of affairs which is the agent's self-preservation. Secondly, this characterization restricts morally good actions to those which contribute to the self-preservation of the agent performing the action. The interests, needs, etc. of others enter the assessment of moral goodness only insofar as they might affect the agent's interest or preservation . As such, the moral goodness of an action is determined by its prudential value. It is sometimes urged that the concept of what I have called natural moral goodness is quite foreign to Hobbes's ethical theory. On this view, Hobbes is interpreted as holding that the conduciveness of actions to self-preservation is only the ground of their prudential goodness. Likewise, it is claimed that the laws of nature, which specify the kinds of action that are conducive to self...