Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679)
- Born in Malmesbury, Father was a clergyman
- Educated at Oxford as a classicist
- Tutor to the Cavendish family
- Traveled Europe widely from 1610-1660 (exiled 1640 -1651)
- Acquainted with many different intellectuals and scientists
- ex: Galileo, Descartes, Gassendi, Machiavelli, Bacon
- Other works: "Elements of Law", "Elements of Philosophy", "De Cive", "De Corpore", "De Homine", etc
"Leviathan"
- Published 1651
- Hobbes' major treatise on political thought
- Social Contract theory
- Humans guided by animal instincts and the struggle for self-preservation
- Man must enter into a contract for a commonwealth (the Leviathan), submitting to one ultimate sovereign authority to save themselves from destroying each other
- Subjects may not rebel, as any form of tyranny is better than the state of war that results from a society without a leader
- Distinct systematic pattern of logic: mind/language --> political discussion
Brynn Kairis
Lit 207
Core Presentation
6/11/13
Lit 207
Core Presentation
6/11/13