Vaccinations Required?
Should parents be allowed to choose whether their children are vaccinated? A high population of unvaccinated children on the West Coast has led to outbreaks of Whooping cough and the measles amongst children. Unfortunately, herding, the idea that as most or all people who are healthy enough to received vaccinations are vaccinated, then those who cannot be (usually due to age, illness, or other health conditions), are protected from getting sick because there is such a low number of people around them with the possibility of caring the unwanted illness. Herding does not work if the amount of people who are not vaccinated reaches higher numbers than those who are vaccinated. Lately there has been a lot of talk about
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Hobbes after seeing the abundance of fighting and violence the occurred in the late 16th and early 17th century, he decided that the source of all the problems in the world come from the Church and State (King). Therefore, he concluded that government must only exist to serve its most basic purposes. According to Hobbes, those purposes were to provide safety and happiness. Hobbes’ political theory has three key concepts to it. The first is without any sort of society or government the state of nature is war, where everyone is against everyone. Meaning that without rules or standards to live by people will always be conquering each other no matter how many people group together. The second key concept for Hobbes is that since the above is true then in order for people to achieve their ultimate goal of natural rights (safety and happiness) there must be a government. In addition, it is the government’s main goal to provide its people with a safe place to live where the citizens can pursuit happiness. Hobbes final key concept is that it is in the best interest of everyone to agree to contractually surrender certain rights in order to maintain the society’s (country’s) natural rights and liberties. In line with all of his three key concepts Hobbes believes that people should have the …show more content…
In fact one might argue that Hobbes might not even allow parents the to vaccinate their children at all. Hobbes’ main issue with vaccinations would be that there is .5-2 percent chance that the medication could cause a person harm. This is due to chemicals as such mercury and other dangerous substances used to preserve the vaccine. Since Hobbes believes that people should try to survive by any means necessary he would not be in favor of requiring children to be vaccinated. One could also argue that because Hobbes promoted the idea of having people contractually authorize any of their rights/liberties to be denied to them, he would have no problem banning everyone from vaccines due to limited but potential danger. On the other hand, Hobbes also has a deep belief in equality that would possibly persuade him to make vaccination an option instead of a
These articles have spurred a controversy about vaccinations and have discouraged parents from them. Reluctance to vaccinate has increased over the past years and has caused parents to neglect the fact that they need to vaccinate their kids. Under-immunization has caused the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases like polio and measles to breakout in schools. Concern for recent outbreaks has lead me to pose the question: Should it be mandatory to vaccinate your kids?
With these natural causes of quarrel, Hobbes concludes that the natural condition of humans is a state of perpetual war of all against all, where no morality exists, and everyone lives in constant fear (p.45). He believes that humans have three motivations for ending this state of war: the fear of death, the desire to have an adequate living and the hope to attain this through one’s labor (p.47). These beliefs become valid because of the use of his examples. One example suggests that people are barbaric to each other. With the absence of international law, strong countries prey on the weakness of weak countries. I believe that his views of moral behavior are very true. Like Hobbes said, people are out for their well-being. If I were to do a favor for someone, I may think I am helping someone out, which I am, but I am probably doing the favor because it is going to make me feel better. It is going to benefit my well being. Hobbes is a famous philosopher whose views were very controversial. But the fact that he lived in a time when the monarchy was the “divine right of kings” (p.42), makes his views valid today. With a different government and new laws, his views appear to be true.
Hobbes states that the proper form of civil government must have a supreme ruler governing the people in order to avoid the state of war. He believes that the goal of the people is to escape the state of war, and that they are willing to transfer their rights in order to leave it. “Whensoever a man transfers his right, or renounces it; it is either in consideration of some right reciprocally transferred to himself; or for some other good he hopes for thereby. For it is a voluntary act: and of the voluntary acts of every man, the object is some good to himself.”3 He believes that all men are equal in the state of nature despite any preexisting differences between them because they are ultimately powerful enough to defend themselves and their resources. “Nature hath made men so equal, in the faculties of the body, and mind; so that though there be found one man sometime manifestly stronger in body, or of quicker mind than another; yet
Thomas Hobbes' believed that the social contract of the government and the people was that citizens should let themselves be ruled and that the ruler or assembly should have "ultimate authority." He argues that if there was no government then humans would be out of control and ultimately perish. He also stressed that government was "society's only hope for peace and security" (Fiero 98). Hobbes' ideas about the "Natural Condition of Mankind" was that humans were "selfish, greedy, and war-like" (Fiero 98). This shows that Hobbes' believed that humans needed government in order to live and flourish.
Hobbes always found ways working for many affluent and elegant families. Hobbes joined together where activists of the king, members of the parliament and other rich landowners were discussed, and his knowledgeable aptitude brought him closer to power through that benefit (“John Locke: Biography.”) Without a strong government, Hobbes claims, the people will be left alone in a disorganized society (“John Locke: Biography.”) If an individual could do as they please it would lead to violence and conflict. To escape the idea of a chaotic nation, the people instead agreed to a social contract. Hobbes believed a society populated under a sovereign authority must be able to surrender their natural rights in exchange for protection. According to the Declaration of Independence, which states that all men have the right of liberty, life, and the pursuit of happiness. Hobbes thought life was the most importance and government should protect your well being. This is prebeavent to the constitution when it included the bill of rights. The bill of rights protected every individual’s freedom, the document contained ten amendments dedicated to preserving citizen’s
A philosopher named Thomas Hobbes believed that the main purpose of government was order. Thomas Hobbes today would support a monarchy such as Trump. His view of human nature led him to see people as being born selfish, driven by their desires, and acting upon disputes as sovereign people would. This led him to perceive a government best ruled by one. One of his arguments stated that because people living in a never-ending war between each citizen, “every man against every man”, provided Hobbes to assume that people would be in search of a ruler who could provide peace and stability. In Hobbes’s
Thomas Hobbes was a philosopher from England whose work and ideas have arguably made him the founder of modern political philosophy. His most famous work is the Leviathan, which he wrote in 1651. In it he describes his view of human nature and hence his view of government. Hobbes’ view of justice is based on his view of what he names the state of nature and the right of nature. Hobbes defines the state of nature as a “war” of everyone against everyone. Hobbes describes the right of nature to be self-preservation. Justice, in order to appease both the state of nature and the right of nature, is then a human construct created out of our drive for self-preservation, at least according to Hobbes. He defines justice as the keeping of valid or enforced
Opel and Diekema (2012) say that the incidence of a disease or to develop a serious condition from the disease is not usually high enough to warrant a mandate for vaccination even though there is a general understanding that the risks of a disease outweighs the risks of the vaccine. I think that because there is a potential for harm to other children that no matter how high the incidence it should not be up to personal choice due to the harm principle. Opel and Diekema (2012) are still on the offence about mandating vaccines because they believe that it disrespects parental autonomy and their ability to make a decision for their child. However, the vaccine is there to protect
In the United States, the law states that vaccinations are required for children entering school unless they have a valid reason that prevents them from receiving the vaccinations. Starting when children are born, they begin the regimen of vaccinations that continue throughout their adolescent years and adulthood. Each year children receive a variation of shots to protect them from the illnesses they will encounter in the world, especially once they attend school. The most common reasons parents forego getting their children vaccinated are religious beliefs, medical exemptions, and personal beliefs. Due to the rising number of parents declining to get their children vaccinated, the number of outbreaks of preventable diseases has increased. The question is now should parents/guardians be forced to vaccinate their children?
Thomas Hobbes had a very interesting outlook on life, something that was so prevalent for centuries, a monarchy. He believed that the ideal world should fall under a monarch, an idea that is outdated in almost every nation across the globe. He was so strong on these ideas, because he believed all humans at their core are selfish creatures. Another thought that he had was that the state should have total control and order over the people, to maintain peace and to destroy the selfishness that exists in
Parents all across the United States have an issue with vaccinations for their children. Parents as of today do not have the option whether or not to immunize their children. These vaccinations are potentially harmful for children, but they also help and prevent life threatening illnesses. Parents should be allowed to choose to vaccinate their children because at times, the vaccine might harm the child, and because the parents simply just have right.
Hobbes believed that mankind had a conscience, and when a person was born, that being had within it the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. To experience Hobbes belief system in full, one had to do this: consider the human life in its preexisting condition, but as a “truly free” being; with no higher authority to answer to. The next step was to become one’s own judge, jury, and executioner. This was to be done with every individual, yet in Hobbes opinion, was not the optimal way for society to function. He understood that this was how mankind operated, but also knew that they should not conduct themselves in such a way.
Hobbes believed that in nature people had to do whatever was necessary to survive and that even if living together, people were still likely to fight. His view of people was dark and most likely due to the horrors of a series of political schemes and armed conflicts he had seen during the English Civil War. He believed that a contract was necessary. Hobbes felt that people were not capable of living in a democratic society. Instead, a single dominant ruler was needed, and if everyone did their part, then the community would function smoothly. Hobbes’ theory is unlike Locke and Rousseau’s. He believed that once the people gave power to the government, the people gave up the right to that power. It would essentially be the cost of the safety the people were seeking.
Thomas Hobbes believed that the government should essentially limit itself to the protection of property and persons. Hobbes thought that power derived from the office, not from the people. Things like virtue, social equality, and welfare were not important. To protect themselves and their government Hobbes believed that it was imperative, natural and rational for people to give up some liberty in order to gain security of self-preservation. This is called the Social Contract. The concept of the Social Contract Theory is that, in the beginning, man lived in the state of nature where life was, “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” (page 619). In this state every
Thomas Hobbes born in 1588, was an English political theorist who believed in Monarchy. Hobbes felt that humans, by nature were inherently selfish beings. During the English Civil war, he expressed the need for an absolute ruler. Like how a man has control over his household. To Hobbes, “without an absolute ruler people would kill each other” (Lawrence Smith Lecture). Due to humans being inherently selfish, they would risk the commonwealth of the community for themselves. This would likely cause complications in society and the social disorder. Hobbes conveyed that, “laws make people behave as civilized people” and without them, people