Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher and theorist mainly known for his work in political philosophy. During his life, he explored themes such as history, theology, geometry, as well as natural philosophy, and ethics. Hobbes is also famous for tackling the social contract theory in his life’s work Leviathan, which discusses and questions the authority of the state over an individual during the Age of Enlightenment in England.

In the following few paragraphs, we’ll try to bring you one step closer to Hobbes, talking about his life and philosophical views. We’ll also briefly discuss Leviathan and the reasons why you should listen to Leviathan’s audiobook version right here on Speechify. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the science of politics as seen by the great Thomas Hobbes.

Who is Thomas Hobbes, and what were some of his ideologies?

Born in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, in 1588, during the invasion of the Spanish Armada, Thomas Hobbes was the youngest of three children. Not much is known about his early life, except that he was forced to leave London after his father had issues with the local clergy.

Nevertheless, he managed to finish Magdalen Hall College in Oxford, where he was taught scholastic logic and math. Afterward, Hobbes went to Cambridge, where he tutored William Cavendish’s son, the Earl of Devonshire, who was a firm supporter of Charles I during the English Civil War, to whom he dedicated The Elements of Law, Natural and Politic.

During the 1620s and the reign of the Short Parliament, Hobbes would study classic Greek and Latin literature, translating many works from Aristotle and Thucydides. He also worked for Francis Bacon, translating his essays into Latin, after which he went to Paris to once again work for the Cavendish family. Among many interesting facts about his life is that he befriended Galileo Galilei and attended philosophical debates in Paris held by Marin Mersenne.

Besides the already mentioned Leviathan, Hobbes was the author of various studies, critiques, and papers through which he described his political thoughts. Some of these include the critique of Descartes’ Meditations on the First Philosophy, De Corpore, and the De Cive. Interestingly, Hobbes also refereed the debate between John Pell and Longomontanus about the problem of squaring the circle.

Due to his collision with the Anglican Christians, British royalists, and French Catholics, Hobbes moved back to England. Once he did, he wrote pieces on human nature (De Homine), mathematics, and geometry, as well as a book about the English Civil War titled Behemoth. Hobbes’ death came in 1679 when he was 91 years old. He is buried in St John the Baptist’s Church in Derbyshire.

The unique perspectives Thomas Hobbes surfaces in regard to government, philosophy, and religion

There’s no denying that Thomas Hobbes was an interesting person and someone who still stirs controversies on the internet encyclopedia of philosophy. To say that we can briefly analyze his scientific methods would be irresponsible. However, there are some aspects of Hobbes’s political philosophy that we can point out so that one can better understand who he was.

Government

As a political philosopher, Hobbes’s work is the opposite of John Locke and Kant. Most who analyze it will agree that he didn’t care for liberalism and that his finest possible form for the sovereign was a king-led government. He believed a king holding complete sovereign power would result in a more decisive and constant exercise of political authority in civil society.

Philosophy

In philosophy, Thomas Hobbes was anti-Aristotelian. Hobbes’s moral suggests that until there are established norms that specify what behaviors are good, bad, or simply evil, people will lack a moral compass. The state of nature in itself is completely devoid of morality as we know it. Without the total right to enforce it, there can be no contract, and justice only exists with a sovereign.

Religion

Talking about the matter of religion, Hobbes held a belief in God. In fact, Hobbes’s idea of a God is that of one who desires to be adored, as he would put it. However, he was undoubtedly opposed to the majority of religions, including almost all denominations of Christianity. Considering Hobbes’s time, many of his contemporaries and readers most knowledgeable about his scriptures accused him of rejecting the existence of God, which is one of the reasons he fled from Paris.

An overview of Leviathan—a novel authored by Thomas Hobbes

All English works of Thomas Hobbes fall flat in comparison to the Leviathan. His magnum opus is divided into four separate tomes, with part I titled Of Man, and others Of Common-Wealth, Of a Christian Common-Wealth, and Of the Kingdom of Darkness. In them, Hobbes makes a case that creating a commonwealth through a social contract is the best way to promote social harmony.

Hobbes’ ideal commonwealth is governed by a sovereign power with absolute power to assure defense and responsibility for maintaining the power of a commonwealth. The commonwealth is depicted as a massive human form made of human beings, with the sovereign serving as its head. It’s also shown as such on the cover of the first edition, which Hobbes helped design.

Hobbes refers to this figure as the Leviathan, which is a gigantic sea creature that appears in the Bible. Scholars like Strauss, Routledge, and Sorell explain that this image serves as the appropriate metaphor for Hobbes’ ideal government. He argues that the Leviathan is essential for maintaining the status quo and averting civil conflict.

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FAQ

What is Thomas Hobbes’ theory?

Modern scholars like MacMillan, Molesworth, and Lloyd celebrate Hobbes for his early and thorough elaboration of social contract theory, which justifies political ideas that would be reached between appropriately situated, rational, free, and equal people.

What were Thomas Hobbes’ 3 main ideas?

Hobbes thinks that competition, distrust, and desire for glory are three components that make humankind go to war. For him, this prerogative is the law of nature—something that is ever present when complete liberty exists.