Thomas Hobbes

By: Marjan, Melody, Kyana, and Lauren

Who Was He? (Melody)Thomas Hobbes was born prematurely in Westport, England, on April 5th 1588, and died December 4th 1679.

He was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy.

At age 14 Hobbes went to Magdalen Hall in Oxford to study. He then left Oxford in 1608 and became the private tutor for William Cavendish, the eldest son of Lord Cavendish of Hardwick (later known as the first Earl of Devonshire). In 1610, Hobbes traveled with William to France, Italy and Germany, where he met other leading scholars of the day, such as Francis Bacon and Ben Jonson.

Who Was He (Continued)Through his association with the Cavendish family, Hobbes entered circles where the activities of the king, members of Parliament, and other wealthy landowners were discussed, and his intellectual abilities were displayed. He would have sat in various parliamentary debates. Through these channels, he began to observe the influence and structures of power and government.

Who Was He (Continued)His 1651 book Leviathan established social contract theory, the foundation of most later Western political philosophy.

Hobbes also developed some of the fundamentals of European liberal thought: the right of the individual; the natural equality of all men; the artificial character of the political order (which led to the later distinction between civil society and the state); the view that all legitimate political power must be "representative" and based on the consent of the people (democracy); and a liberal interpretation of law.

Hobbes also contributed to a diverse array of other fields, including history, geometry, the physics of gases, theology, ethics, and general philosophy.

Works

Works (continued)

Summary of Leviathan (Marjan)

In Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes explains his belief that in order to establish commonwealth, we as a society first need to have a sense of social unity. In doing this, we will have the ideal government capable of meeting the needs of every single citizen. He paints the picture of an actual Leviathan (sea monster from the Bible) as a social construct to support his belief of unity, emphasizing the point that if we all come together our strength and resilience will be greater, and we will have formed the optimal vessel capable of survival and general morality in our world, especially politically.

The work is also written in two books, Book I outlining the materialistic principles of human nature and Book II outlining the actual formation of the “Leviathan”. The books are then separated into four sections: "Of Man”, "Of Common-wealth" ,"Of a Christian Commonwealth" and "Of the Kingdom of Darkness”. It puts a heavy emphasis on contract, referring to what men call the mutual transferring of right, and on the obligations of citizens in order to achieve the utopia of “Leviathan”.

Beliefs (Marjan)- He believed that we all fear violent death, and that we have a right to

defend ourselves in any way possible.

- He believed that since resources are scarce, life is a "war of all against all."

- He believed that life in the state of nature is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

- He believed that it's in our best interest to avoid war.

- His philosophy was heavily influenced by that of Bacons, who he served as a secretary to for some time.

- Hobbes argued that simply “experimenting” was unsuccessful in providing secure, indisputable knowledge.

Purpose of Writing (Lauren)Hobbes wrote Leviathan to challenge the philosophical and political norms. For him, Civil War was the ultimate fear. In his eyes, war was born of disagreements in philosophy, therefore he wanted to reform philosophy so no indecision's exist. (He believed that traditional philosophy arrived at unresolved conclusions) In the end, he wrote it to try to end conflict and indecision for the greater good.

Hobbes wrote Leviathan in the 17th century when the English Civil Wars were occurring. The general tone of fear shows through his writing, fear he says he was feeling because of the political turmoil in England. When the parliament overthrew King Charles I and brought in the Commonwealth laws, Hobbes published Leviathan. It was extremely controversial, since it was denouncing the beheading of King, and went against the ruling powers claims by saying sovereignty was the correct way of living.

Historical Context (Lauren)

Impact On Human History● Thomas Hobbes left an everlasting influence on political thought ● His book, Leviathan, established the foundation for most of

Western political philosophy from the perspective of social contract theory

● His ideas however were still considered crazy until about half a century after his death, yet since then, he has been known as one of the most important political thinkers

● His political philosophy went on to influence John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Immanuel Kant