Human Nature

Human Nature

COMPARE JOHN LOCKE’S VIEW OF BASIC HUMAN NATURE AND ADAM SMITH

HUMAN NATURE.

This is defined as the fundamental substance of all human beings. It is believed to involve human behavior, exists for long periods and cuts across various cultural groups.

ANALYSIS:

The works of john Locke and Adam smith vary on this issue. While Locke tries to analyze the state of men in a natural setting smith tries to analyze them from the society from which they exercise their actions.

Thus, Locke tries to analyze the nature of human beings from a state of perfect freedom from all other human beings. That is in perfect isolation of other humans actions.

On the other side smith tries to analyze man in comparison to other animal species. In this view smith observes that humans unlike other animals, seek co-operation from their brethrens. Against this backdrop, smith observes that as humans mature, they seek help from their fellows in form of division of labor, unlike other animal species that seek independence as they mature.

Human Nature

According to Locke this freedom and liberty causes humans to be rational animals by nature. This is the reason that with time the desires to have laws to protect us from ourselves become imminent. Surprisingly smith shares the view that those differences between us are needed in order to divide man into different professions. This is why the need for division of labor becomes necessary in order to prevent man from being an enemy to his fellow man.

According to Locke when a man or human degenerates in to a life of crime then he naturally abandons the principles of human nature. On the other side smith feels that such incidences of crime arise as the human tries to apply the principles of the invisible hand to increase his or her domestic revenue.