Synopsis:
- Materialism
- Nature is a mechanism
- The motion of living beings is due to a force to eskew pain and a force to desire pleaure
- The human body is a mechanism
- Human behavior is caused by material phenomena, and is controlled by the competing motivations of appetite and aversion
- The soul is part of the body (it represents its "vital" quality)
- Force is transmitted by contact between bodies
- There is a substance filling the void between bodies:
- God is that substance
- Human nature is evil. Good arises with society.
- Human nature is inherently selfish and violent, bound to endless civil strife ("war of all against all")
- The state provides stability and security for the people
- Peace and security are more important than liberty and rights
- The laws of the country (designed to maintain peace and security) are the equivalent of the laws of nature (designed to maintain order)
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