Laws of Nature (Hobbes)

"... reason suggesteth convenient articles of peace, upon which men may be drawn to agreement. These articles, are they, which otherwise are called the Laws of Nature...." (P 453a)

"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; and to omit that, by which he thinketh it may be best preserved." (P 453b)


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Richard Lee, rlee@uark.edu, last modified: 10 February 2003