On The Moral Obligation In Hobbes’ Theory Of Natural Law

Hobbes’ Theory of natural law is the core of Hobbes’ moral philosophy.The normative study of Hobbes’ natural law helps to enrich the domestic study on Hobbes.However,from the current study point of view,the normative study of Hobbes’ natural law is not very sufficient,so it is very important to clarify the relationship for the overall understanding of Hobbes’ moral philosophy.On the issue of abiding by the norms of natural law,this paper attempts to clarify the factors closely related to it the validity conditions of moral obligation,the form of moral obligation,the basic problems of moral obligation and self-interest,so as to analyze the relationship between reason and natural law,between natural law and moral law,between natural law and moral obligation,and between moral motivation and moral obligation.In order to achieve the above purpose,this paper will analyze and study the moral obligations of Hobbes in compliance with natural law from five parts.In the first part,the author mainly analyzes the reasons,significance,the current situation of domestic and foreign research and the structure and ideas of the article.The second part mainly discusses the validity conditions of moral obligation.Because the effective law and effective convenant are necessary and the only means,through which moral obligations can be generated,the conditions for the effective law or the covenant can make the moral obligation effective.First,the validity conditions of the obligation of the convenant are analyzed.In the natural state,not all the convenant have the obligation,only the valid ones are obligatory.Some convenant may be void from the beginning and therefore do not result in moral obligations,while others may be invalid at some time after the conclusion,thus terminating the performance of moral obligations by the parties concerned.Secondly,the validity conditions of the laws are analyzed.Because these validity conditions come from the analysis of Hobbes’ concept of moral obligation,it can be summarized as the saying that where it is logically impossible,the individual does not have moral obligation.The third part mainly discusses the form of moral obligation to abide by natural law.Hobbes believes that natural law constitutes the moral obligation of human beings in both natural state and civil society,but they only carry out in a specific way and meet some valid conditions.Firstly,the paper analyzes the form of moral obligation to abide by natural law in natural state.In terms of natural state,there are two kinds of moral obligations,internal obligation or obligation of "conscience court",which is not affected by the condition of "sufficent safety".Hobbes thinks that such obligation always exists;and external obligation based on external behavior category depends on the self security of agent.And the factors that affect the compliance with natural law in natural state are analyzed.Secondly,the paper analyzes the moral obligation form of complying with natural law in civil society,and studies the operation mode of the old-style natural law based on private conscience,and the new-style natural law mode based on public conscience.The fourth part mainly discusses the conflict and reconciliation between the moral obligation of abiding by natural law and self-interest.This part first analyzes the basic proposition of "prudence interpretation",and through the analysis of Hobbes’ original text,questions the prudence interpretation,and puts forward the corresponding solutions.Contrary to the prudence interpretation,the moral interpretation puts forward the possibility that the moral obligation of abiding by the natural law is compatible with the self-interest,but there are still many difficulties in the theory of divine command in the moral interpretation.According to the query of Glen Newey,we return to Hobbes’ text again to find the most real connotation.At the end of the text,it talks about Kavka’s strategy of how to reconcile the moral obligation of abiding by natural law with self-interest.Different from the prudence interpretation and moral interpretation,Kavka first analyzes the moral meaning of right reason.According to Kavka’s understanding,right reason can not only be the reasoning of the behavior of maximizing self-interest under specific circumstances as the prudence interpretation says,but also consider the impact on the interests of others,that is,whether the behavior conforms to the right rules that are allowed morally.Finally,Kavka thinks that Hobbes’ requirement for right reason is natural law.By analyzing the logical form of natural law,he thinks natural law is regarded as the copper law with restrictive clauses rather than the gold law.Copper law is more in line with the requirements of right reason to abide by the moral obligations of natural law.