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Whenever two people “desire the same thing[s]” … compare Aristotle and Hobbes.

I present the following two quotes (Aristotle and Hobbes, respectively) for comparison, without analysis.

Aristotle

Book II, Chapter IV Friendship and Enmity, 1381b 15

And [we also feel friendly] towards those who are like ourselves in character and occupation, providing they do not get in the way or gain their living from the same source as we do — for then it will be the case of ‘potter against potter’:

Potter to potter and builder to builder begrudge their reward.

And those who desire the same things as we desire, if it is possible for us to both share them together; otherwise, the same trouble arises here, too. (p 68)

  • Aristotle. Translated by W. Rhys Roberts. Rhetoric, Dover Publications, Inc.: New York. 2004.

Hobbes

Part I, Chapter XIII, 3

If any two men desire the same thing, which nevertheless they cannot both enjoy, they become enemies; and in the way to their end (which is principally their own conservation, and sometimes their delectation only) endeavour to destroy or subdue one another. (p 122)

  • Thomas Hobbes, A.P. Martinich and Brian Battiste, Eds, Leviathan, Broadview, 2011. Part I, Chapter XIII, 3.

Note. I’ve created a ‘Toon for the Hobbes quote, which you can view here:

Saturday Morning Pam-Toons. And from this, an entire political theory: https://pam-mentations.com/2022/02/24/saturday-morning-pam-toons-and-from-this-an-entire-political-theory/

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pammentations

I’ve completed all but defence of my thesis for a masters in philosophy. My disciplinary interest is in the acquisition and maintenance of our beliefs. But I also have a background in the study of rhetoric, linguistics, and philosophy of language. Political rhetoric particularly interests me.

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