INTRODUCTION

5th April 1588 , born in Wiltshire England

Thomas Hobbes was excellent in classical languages

He went to Magdalene Hall University in Oxford for further studies

He started tutoring a person from royal family, thus he got related with the structures of power and government

He took asylum in France during English civil war (1642-1651)

In 1666, the House of Commons ordered investigation of Leviathan for atheist tendencies

Hobbes being accused of atheism couldn’t publish his work on human conduct anymore in England

Hobbes breathe his last on December 4th 1679

The elements of law, nature and politics

• This is Hobbes’s first published philosophical work (1640)

• Hobbes has defined sovereignty in it which remains central to all of his political wotk.

HOBBES’s CONTRIBUTION

De Cive ("On the citizen") • Is Thomas Hobbes's first work

dealing with human knowledge published in 1642 in Latin

• This work comprises three parts: Libertas (liberty), Imperium (dominion), and Religio (religion).

Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil

• Published in 1651• The work concerns the structure of

society and legitimate government

Hobbes political philosophy: A summary Hobbes’s main concern is with the

problem of social and political order Let’s begin with Hobbes’s concept of

‘state of nature’: in the "natural" condition human beings lack government and are prone to conflicts

Humans are meant to live in anarchy. Hobbes believes that human judgement

is unreliable since it is made on the basis of self interests

Social Contract Theory: an 'occurrence' in which individuals came together and cede some of their individual rights leading to the establishment of a state

Absolute Monarch: A complete adherence of citizens to the sovereign body necessary for a peaceful environment. A government with ultimate powers.

Hobbes concept of war and peace: “Wickedness of bad men compels

good men to have recourse for their own protection, to the virtues of war which are violence and fraud”.

War: Every individual is insecure similarly every sovereign group is insecure leading to conflicts

Civil war resulted from disagreements in the philosophical foundations of political knowledge

Without an international sovereign, the international system under this logic is in a permanent state of nature and war i.e. it is anarchic.

Bellum omnium contra omnes (The condition of man is a condition of

war of everyone against everyone.)

Relevance of Hobbes’s philosophy in present age: Contradiction of Hobbes ideals with

modern Democracy: Similar to Hobbes’s view states

are sovereign today but contrarily not under an autocracy.

Democracy gives public political liberty but Hobbes perceived it as a threat to stability.

Lack of a guardian in the International system: The absence of an ultimate sovereign in

International realm is the cause of conflicts How does Hobbes View explains the increase

in Civil Wars? In accordance with Hobbes views the political

freedom that is exercised by the people is the cause of civil wars today but he also made clear that a sovereign brings peace.

Other views