Jenny Carolina Burgos Casas

This paper presents a discussion between two interpretations of Hobbes' postulate of natural equality: the classical position, according to which equality is based on a factual statement, namely the equal capacity for mutual violent destruction among human beings, and the normative-fictionalist position, which indicates that natural equality does not point to a factual description of how men are, but rather is a fictional assumption that we must assume if we want to survive and live in peace. I will argue in favor of the classical position by evaluating some of the objections raised against it from the normative-fictionalist side, but I will also defend the idea that certain concessions must be made to the latter interpretation.