Meaning of Man is a wolf to man (homo homini lupus)

"Man is a wolf to man" (in Latin, homo homini lupus) is a phrase used by the 18th century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes in his work The Leviathan (1651) to refer to that the natural state of man leads him to a continuous struggle against his fellow man.

The phrase was extracted by Hobbes from the dramatic work Asinaria, by the Latin playwright Plautus (250-184 BC. of C.). There, Plautus affirmed "wolf is the man for the man" (in Latin, lupus est homo homini).

Hobbes's phrase, in that sense, becomes the metaphor of the wild animal that man carries inside, being able to carry out great atrocities and barbarities against elements of his own species. Some of these actions are directing wars, practicing extermination against a social group, carrying out attacks, murders and kidnappings, subjecting other individuals to slavery, illegal trafficking of people, etc.

However, Thomas Hobbes indicates that peace and social union can be achieved when they are established in a social contract, in which a centralized power is defined that has the absolute authority to protect society, creating a community civilized.

It is to be considered that man can present a good and faultless behavior, but also destructive and selfish, specifically when he is moved by his own interests, for example, a promotion in the job.

The opposite phrase to "the men is a wolf for the man" is one that sentences that "the man is good by nature", of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who, contrary to Hobbes, argued that human beings are born good and free, but the world corrupts.

See also Man is good by nature.

Phrase analysis

According to Hobbes, the natural state of human beings is that of confrontations with one another, generating violent, cruel and savage actions.

This assumes that all threats faced by a human being are generated by other human beings, so it can be concluded, in Hobbes's opinion, that man is a predator of man himself.

Generally, in most cases of fact, the stronger individual exploits or mistreats the weaker, when the right thing to do is for the strong to protect the weak. As the human species does not have such behavior, Hobbes presents the social contract to achieve a harmonious, balanced and peaceful coexistence among the citizens of a society.

But what does the social contract consist of? The social contract is designed with the intention of establishing an authority, moral norms and laws to which individuals are subject and must comply. This contract grants each individual rights and duties, in exchange for abandoning the freedom that he possesses in the natural state, to ensure his survival in society.

However, the terms established in the social contract may change on the condition that all the parties agree and express it.

Bachelor of Philosophy (2009) from the National University of Costa Rica; Master's in History, International Relations and Cooperation (2013), in Translation and Language Services (2015) and in Multimedia (2017) from the University of Porto.