History Paper Thomas Hobbes

Submitted By SolaB69
Words: 777
Pages: 4
Open Document
Adesola Bilesanmi
Saginaw Valley State University
History 100
Philosopher: Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes was not born to power or wealth or influence, he was known as the son of a disgraced village vicar. Hobbes was lucky that his uncle was wealthy enough to provide for his education and that his intellectual talents were soon recognized and developed. Those intellectual abilities, and his uncle’s support, brought him a place in university of Oxford. And these in turn – together with a good deal of common sense and personal maturity – won him a place tutoring the son of an important noble family, the Cavendishes. This meant that Hobbes entered circles where the activities of the King, of Members of Parliament, and of other wealthy landowners were known and discussed, and indeed influenced. Thus intellectual and practical ability brought Hobbes to a place close to power – later he would even be math tutor to the future King Charles II. Although this never made Hobbes powerful, it meant he was acquainted with those who were. As the Civil Wars of 1642-46 and 1648-51 was about to happen Hobbes felt forced to leave the country for his personal safety, and lived in France from 1640 to 1651. Even after the monarchy had been restored in 1660, Hobbes’s security was not always certain: powerful religious figures, critical of his writings, made moves in Parliament that apparently led Hobbes to burn some of his papers for fear of prosecution.
Hobbes most important and famous work is Leviathan, a classic of English writing style. Leviathan expands on the argument of De Cive (which offers a clear, concise statement of Hobbes’s moral and political philosophy), mostly in terms of its huge second half that deals with questions of religion. The Leviathan along with De Cive concludes Hobbes philosophies and believes. Hobbes believed that the future presents a “bleak picture of human beings in the state of nature, where life is "nasty, brutish, and short." Fear of violent death is the principal motive that causes people to create a state by contracting to surrender their natural rights and to submit to the absolute authority of a sovereign. Although the power of the sovereign derived originally from the people” (Williams, WP).
Hobbes believed that “human beings pursue their own self-interest relentlessly, instinctively avoiding pain and pursuing pleasure. Hobbes saw the commonwealth or society, as a similar machine, larger than the human body and synthetic but nevertheless operating according to the laws governing motion and impact” (Williams, WP).
I cannot state whether or not I agree or disagree with Hobbes thesis or not because he is a very pessimistic person but there is some truth to his thesis it is not based on some ideological fact based on his imagination. He is a highly intelligent person not only in his field of study but in almost every subject and most of his thesis and work are recognized by other philosopher but I believe humanity is not the “"nasty, brutish, and short." Fear of
Show More

Related Documents: History Paper Thomas Hobbes

HOBBES VS R Essays

but all have contributed a part to where we stand today. Throughout history, power has continuously been associated with money, social status, and relative titles. However, we shall not forget that knowledge is power, as well as power is knowledge. Two philosophers in particular, having both similar and different characteristics, both made a huge impact on our thought process on how things should be. Thomas Hobbes with “Leviathan” and Jean Jacques Rousseau with “The Social Contract”, are two…

Words 392 - Pages 2

Philosophy from the Female Perspective Essay example

experience of man. Women were too emotional and simple to understand the complexity of the world. Philosophers have always focused on man's influence and role in the world. These philosophers have downplayed or ignored the role of women in history. This paper will discuss the gender…

Words 2184 - Pages 9

Hobbes Vs Kant

peace were Thomas Hobbes and Immanuel Kant. Hobbes’ Leviathan depicts frustration with humanity while providing a solution create a peaceful society. Kant provides necessary articles for peace but on an international level. Both concepts don’t differ in their fundamentals; each provides guidelines suggested for implementation to finally achieve peace. In this paper, I outline Hobbes’ and Kant’s articles for peace and compare them with commentary on which is the most effective throughout history. While…

Words 1502 - Pages 7

Essay on Paine and Burke

EITHER HOBBES AND LOCKE OR PAINE AND BURKE DIFFER. This essay will examine the philosophical difference between Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine relating to the French and American Revolutions at the late Eighteenth Century. We are going to present a summary of the debate between these two different philosophers in the first part of this essay. The pros and cons of each man will be looked at in the second and third part of the essay and the final part of this essay will explain why Thomas Paine's…

Words 1647 - Pages 7

Humans Nature - Good or Bad? Essay

conscience must be heeded in order to fully experience human nature that is driven by good deeds. One of the largest impacts of human nature is the environment that shapes it. John Locke (1632-1704) characterized a new human mind as a, “blank sheet of paper and a clean slate.” 4 His theory stating that human nature is not predisposed to good or bad, but is dependant upon and is influenced by the environment that the individual was raised and lives in. Which is similar to the behaviorism theory of B.F…

Words 1154 - Pages 5

Disparate American Values Essay

American's gained their independence because of a decision by its' colonial citizens to pursue freedom through the legitimate use of armed force. Disparate American colonies fought on a unified front for a set of defining values and principles centered on their customs, traditions, and desired institutions. Americans ultimately prevailed because of a deep shared sense of patriotism and nationalism. American's declared their independence from Britain's control based on the defining principles of life…

Words 2839 - Pages 12

A Discussion Upon the Vying Perceived Importance of Soverign Rights Versus Human Rights Essay

against Rebellion. The modern concept of sovereignty came about after the Social Theory postulations of Thomas Hobbes in his work Leviathan. Hobbes argued that the Sovereignty of a ruler is provided by way of a Contract between himself and his people, a trade of some of their rights in exchange for the Sovereign power to maintain their safety. Various other philosophers have expounded upon Hobbes’ notion of Sovereignty, such as Locke, Rousseau and Austin, however the Peace Treaties of Westphalia of…

Words 2704 - Pages 11

Absolute Monarchy Dbq

to the dread of the punishment, in his mind proving that the people will be obedient to a ruler whom they fear (Doc. 3). Other writings that would support absolutism alongside Machiavelli’s, Louis XIV’s, and James I’s are those of philosopher Thomas Hobbes. His views mirrored Machiavelli’s in that all people are innately wicked and are not to be trusted, and therefore supported one person having full political control to crack down on those citizens who inside, harbor evil…

Words 1258 - Pages 6

Foundations Of American Government

documents, noting how they were part of a trans-Atlantic Enlightenment movement with emphasis on reason, freethinking, natural law, popular sovereignty, and human equality. Many of these ideas are visible in the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson. These ideas provided the ideological and philosophical framework for the American Revolution. After the expulsion of the English monarchy, the Articles of Confederation - in effect from 1776 to 1787 - turned the former colonies into…

Words 7246 - Pages 29

Essay on PS 110 Notes

power to enforce decisions Legitimacy: level of support for the enforcement of government’s authority Diffuse (high levels) support: legitimate government Concentrated (low levels) support: illegitimate government The Role of Government Thomas Hobbes: A world without government would devolve into a “war of all against all.” Such a world would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” James Madison: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” Government is primarily in…

Words 2561 - Pages 11