Hobbes: Irrationality and the Social Contract

“There is a fourth major problem with Hobbes's analysis, one which obviously bothered him considerably. How is his theory going to work for someone who fears eternal damnation more than an immediate earthly death? Why should someone who fears God more than the Sovereign obey the Sovereign rather than God? (...) the fear of invisible powers is stronger than the fear of violent death as long as people believe in invisible powers, i.e., as long as they are under the spell of delusions about the true character of reality; the fear of violent death comes fully into its own as soon as people have become enlightened.”

Ian Johnston. (lectures) On Hobbes Leviathan. Vancouver Island University. Last edited Dec. 2002. http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/introser/hobbes.htm [05-04-13] Image: M. Dur. Touch Wood. Cartoonstock. 

In order for his theory to work, Hobbes relies on the presupposition that man is a rational being. After all, the social contract is a set of rules that all (or most) rational creatures would adhere to. But how rational are humans really? It is important to question these presuppositions because Hobbes may take them for granted. Sure, man is possessed of a rudimentary kind of rationality that enables him, for example, to weigh pros against cons, or to do some basic problem-solving; but man is also afraid of the dark, deeply religious and sometimes incredible stubborn and/or irrational.  

It is not an act of reason to believe that, during mass, the wine and bread physically turn into the blood and flesh of Christ, but rather an act of faith. Faith, to Hobbes, was very problematic, not only because the Pope competed with the sovereign for the obedience of the people, but also because faith or superstition -so ingrained into our thoughts- will keep us from giving the social contract a fair consideration.

It is not just religion that has to be curbed in order for the social contract to stand a fighting chance. Hobbes overlooks, or merely refuses to accept many 'irrational', but essentially human characteristics that have the potential to overthrow the social contract. The human need for bonds, friendships and love is blatantly neglected in Hobbes' theory. Man may not be the sociable animal of ancient Greece, who revels in politics, but he is also certainly not solitary. Family matters.  Hobbes insistence on vertical bonds i.e. laws between sovereign and citizen is not enough to offer adequate direction. The natural hierarchy between people, families, neighbourhoods, religious orders as well as the bonds between them (and their Gods) all need to  be kept in mind in the formulation of any kind of social contract.