“goats and monkeys!”: shakespeare, hobbes, and the state of nature

MOORE: “GOATS AND MONKEYS!”: SHAKESPEARE, HOBBES, AND THE STATE
OF NATURE
anticipate Hobbes’ philosophy, particularly this peculiar notion of our ontological
flexibility and its political consequences.
The Nature Problem
What is the nature of nature’s power with respect to humans That is the question
that King Lear insists on asking us over and over again, as we watch Edmond betray the
father who loved him, and Cordelia risk all for the father who banished her. In what sense
does nature govern human conduct Or, as Lear asks in the Folio after being cast out in
the storm: “Is there any cause in nature that makes these hard hearts” (3.6.32-3). Finding
a satisfactory answer to these questions proves nearly as difficult for the audience as it
does for Lear, especially because nature is, as Jacob Klein says, “multidimensional.” 15
First, in both the world and the play, there is widespread disagreement about
which behaviours, attitudes, relationships, and institutions we can call natural. Second, it
is unclear, even after we have identified the natural things, in what sense we are
compelled to love, obey, pursue, foster, or respect those things. Monogamy is a good
example. An exclusive sexual partnership between two people might be described
variously as natural and unnatural. Those who believe monogamy is a mutually beneficial
and therefore rational relationship, the very foundation of family and community, are
inclined to think of sexual exclusivity as natural. Those who disagree consider
monogamy merely a customary arrangement, often oppressive and contrary to
humanity’s natural impulses – particularly the male’s desire to procreate as often as
possible with as many partners as possible. Thus both proponents and opponents of
15 Jacob Klein, “On the Nature of Nature,” The Independent Journal of Philosophy 3 (1979): 108.
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