Thomas hobbes biography summary worksheet

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In his view, human nature is characterized by a perpetual struggle for power, which makes cooperation difficult without a strong central authority.

How did Hobbes’s ideas influence political philosophy and modern governance?

Hobbes’s ideas laid the foundation for modern political philosophy and the social contract theory.

In his later years, Hobbes turned his attention to a boyhood favorite--classics--publishing translations of Homer's The Odyssey and The Iliad.

Hugely influential, Hobbes' ideas form the building blocks of nearly all Western political thought, including the right of the individual, the importance of republican government, and the idea that acts are allowed if they are not expressly forbidden.

Hobbes' thoughts were listed third among the set of "Objections" appended to the work. His father was a wayward country vicar and he was mainly brought up by an uncle. He was able to travel widely and he benefited from their lifelong patronage. The conflict then culminated in the English Civil Wars (1642-1651), which led to the king being executed and a republic being declared, and Hobbes left the country to preserve his personal safety, living in France from 1640 to 1651.

Development of Scientific Interests

Hobbes had never been trained in mathematics or the sciences at Oxford, nor previously at Wiltshire.

His work greatly influenced subsequent philosophers like John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who expanded on his ideas. According to him, individuals willingly surrender some of their natural rights and freedom to a central authority (the Leviathan) in exchange for security and protection.

Parts of the work anticipate the better-known Leviathan, which would come nine years later.

Leviathan

While still in Paris, Hobbes began work on what would become his magnum opus and one of the most influential books ever written: Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiastical and Civil (usually referred to as simply Leviathan).

Hobbes also worked for the Marquess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a relative of William Cavendish and Sir Charles Cavendish, Newcastle’s brother. At the age of 84, he published his autobiography in Latin verse, with its whimsical humor, occasional pathos, and supreme self-complacency. The treatise was circulated, and The Elements of Law, Natural and Politic became Hobbes' first work of political philosophy (although he never intended it to be published as a book).

In Paris, he served as tutor to the Prince of Wales (the future Charles II)

Despite being a Royalist, he was also often criticised for being an atheist. He did not study mathematics or science at Oxford, and his first education in Wiltshire was in ancient languages. A Minute or First Draught of the Optiques (1646) was Hobbes’ most polished optical work.

SYSTEM OF THOMAS HOBBES

• Mechanical theories are those that attribute all observed outcomes to matter and motion.

  An uncle of Hobbes', a tradesman and alderman, provided for Hobbes' education. In 1631, while again tutoring a young Cavendish, Hobbes' philosophy began to take form, and his Short Tract on First Principles appeared.

  Political Involvement

  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 brought him close to power (although he never became a powerful figure himself).

  Hobbes died in 1679.

  Early Years

  Thomas Hobbes was born in Westport, adjoining Malmesbury, England, on April 5, 1588. The works incorporated Hobbes' findings on optics and the work of, among others, Galileo (on the motions of terrestrial bodies) and Kepler (on astronomy). But his views had begun to change by the time he reissued portions of his work in a Latin version known as De Cive (1642).