Overview
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) was the English philosopher of absolutist sovereignty and mechanistic psychology, author of Leviathan (1651). Tutor and associate of aristocratic families, he weathered Civil War exile in Paris and scientific debate with Boyle’s circle. Handbook dates: 1588–1679. Fear of violent death frames his politics more than civic glory.
Main ideas
In a state of nature without common power, life is war of all against all—solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. Rational covenants transfer rights to a sovereign to secure peace. Sovereignty must be undivided; mixed constitution invites relapse into war. Materialism explains mind as motions; language and reason serve calculation of consequences. Natural laws are precepts of prudence toward survival. Religion’s public face belongs under sovereign authority to prevent sedition.
Major works
- Leviathan
- De Cive
- Elements of Law
- De Corpore
Legacy
Hobbes founded modern social-contract realism and remains liberalism’s dark twin. Game theory and political realism continually restage his state of nature. He set the English template for secular political science.
Themes in this archive
Nature (2) · Power (1) · Desire (1)