For me, the most interesting parts
of Leviathan so far have been Hobbes’ thoughts on language.
As an English major and an avid reader and writer for my entire life, any
discussion on verbal or written communication intrigues me. Most notably, in
Chapter V, he states, “Children therefore are not endued with reason at all
till they have attained the use of speech, but are called reasonable creatures
for the possibility apparent of having the use of reason in time to come” (26).
I agree that speech is connected to reason in an intricate and important
relationship. Speech is how humans express
their reason to other humans. However, I think it is a bit of a stretch to say
that reason is impossible without speech. For example, very intelligent people
sometimes have uncontrollable disabilities that prohibit them from expressing
themselves in words. Their reason is still present internally; it is just not
present to other people. Similarly, I think that children possess reason that
is different than adults’, but it is still valid and useful regarding contributions
to society. The only difference is that it may express itself differently. So, I agree with Hobbes to
a point in this statement, but I think his stance in this passage is a little
extreme.
Linguistics is an area of interest for me as well. I do think communication is a vital part of reason. In the instance of individuals with disabilities, I think Hobbes would group them similar to how he has children. If the person has never been able to express themselves, there is no evidence of reason. We only assume it exists in them because they are human, like us. We have never known an animal (non-human) to have reason, therefore we cannot assume that they do. On the other hand, in this time period, we consider those with disabilities to most extremes to still be human and therefore have reason.
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