Thomas Hobbes

1
Thomas Hobbes

• By Nicole Service, Christine Mountain, Jessica
  Trevisan, and Liz Guilmette

2
BIOGRAPHY

• Born prematurely - April 5, 1588 in Malmesbury,
  Wiltshire,
• England
• Father was the vicar of Westport fled to
• London after being involved in a brawl outside
  
• his own church
• Left Hobbes to be raised by his wealthy uncle
• Great intellectual talents recognized as a boy/
• cultivated through learning Latin and Greek

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Education

• Educated at Westport Church beginning at age 4
• Attended Malmesbury School
• Then attended a private school kept by an Oxford
  graduate
• 1603 - continued education at Magdalen Hall,
  Oxford.
• Greatly pursued his own curriculum due to lack of
  interest in scholastic learning of his time
• Graduated from Oxford University
• in 1608.

4
jOB

• Tutored William Cavendish and son
• Then, tutored the son of Sir Gervase Clifton
• Later tutored math to future King Charles II
• Expanded knowledge of philosophy and tutored for
  the next seven years
• Gave him an opportunity to make connections

5
Books

• Wrote 81 books
• Most famous works Leviathan and De Cive
• Focus on moral/political philosophy, religious
• issues
• The Elements of Law supported the King
• De Homine and Behemoth English civil wars

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Philosophical Ideas

• Did not believe people could govern themselves
  they only strive for personal benefit
• Believed that humankind was bad and humans were
  naturally selfish
• Thought that humans should give their obedience
  to an unaccountable sovereign
• If humans tried to govern themselves, they would
  fall into a state of nature similar to Civil
  War
• Nature should thus dissociate and render men apt
  to invade and destroy one another - Leviathan

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Governmental beliefs

• Believed in absolute monarchies humans have no
  ability to govern themselves due to their selfish
  and evil nature
• Contributed to the new political idea that
  monarchies should make decisions based on the
  good of the people
• If they were not trying to benefit the people,
  they should be replaced

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EFFECT

• Overthrow of monarchies that dont benefit the
  people gives colonists ideas
• English monarchy upsets the colonists
• Social contract the sovereign has a right of
  nature to judge what is right and wrong
• Colonists dont like being told what to do
  leads to a want for independence