The Nature of Man

The “nature of man” is described perfectly by Thomas Hobbes as he lists “three principal causes for quarrel: first, competition; secondly, distrust; thirdly, glory.” His insights concerning the causes of war are spot on. He says that the first principal makes men invade for gain, the second one for safety, and the third for reputation.

Hobbes’s insights parallel a modern-day scripture from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It comes from the Doctrine and Covenants and reads, “We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.”

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Hobbes, himself, makes several references to the Bible, especially the familiar “law of the Gospel” that reminds us “to do unto others….” He also teaches that “men are continually in competition for honor and dignity…and consequently…there arises envy and hatred and finally war.”

We see this kind of behavior in men (meaning men and women alike) in all areas of life. As a matter of fact, I don’t believe there is any place in our lives that escapes the negative consequences of the natural man. There is one place, in particular, where I have been saddened to see this focus on competition, distrust, envy, hatred, gain, and glory; it is on the fields and in the courts of all sports. While raising my family, I got tired of hearing about how good competitive sports would be for my kids. Many proudly taught that participation in any sport would teach sportsmanship; however, I never witnessed any positive act of sportsmanship. I am sure that it was there, but no doubt it was overshadowed by a much higher percentage of negative behavior, all in the name of gain and glory for self.

I believe the reason so many great minds have been enlightened with this idea of the true nature of man is because our nature is evident throughout history. If we can accept this natural trait in ourselves, we can overcome the natural man. As we rule over each other in appropriate ways and even compete when necessary, we can do so in the manner of “doing unto others as we would have them do unto us.”