his rule was the result of a common agreement or compact into which men enter voluntarily if not always happily. In fact, while Hobbes (1994) felt that societies create and define that which is virtuous, he was doubtful about the probability that men will behave virtuously.
It is important to recognize that this philosopher presents an egoistic or egocentric view of human nature. Hobbes (1994) is somewhat radical in his belief that man departs from the state of nature only in order to secure more peace and benefits than he could acquire if he remained outside of society. The social order arises as a contract in which absolute power is delegated to a sovereign. Hobbes (1994) also contends that any rebellion against the decisions or policies of the ruler is a breach of the social contract. Such a breach gives the sovereign de facto permission to take any steps that are needed to protect his subjects from a return to the state of nature.
In Leviathan, Hobbes (1994) demonstrated that men in nature or the natural state of affairs are aggressive in terms of their own safety; he correctly noted that what constitutes a "good" is the object of man's appetites or desires. For Hobbes (1994), man's natural condition is one of misery; people are more or
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