• Born April 5 1588 in Westport England• Educated at the Westport Church from the age

of four• Went on to be learn at the Malmesberry

School then onto a private school• Graduated from Oxford University and was

always viewed as a good pupil

• Tutored the Baron of Cavendish in 1608• Started to become associated with literary

figures but was not considered a philosopher until 1629

• Continued to tutor and expand his knowledge of philosophy beginning in 1631

• In 1637 he began to officially consider himself a philosopher and scholar

Different Areas of Study

• Began to travel outside of England and study the why humans allowed themselves to be ruled by laws government

• Upon his return to England in 1937 the country was in a state of distress

• Began to execute a philosophical plan to help the nation

• Initial introduction to his treatise called the Element of Law, Natural and Politic

Element of Law

• Begins to circulate the Element of Law in 1640 which was a demonstration for the need of absolute sovereignty

• This was dissolved by Parliament• Following this Hobbes flees to Paris where he

begins to write a trilogy of books on the body, mind, and citizen in 1642

Response

• An author by the name of Bramall wrote many responses to Hobbes’ publications such as Castigations of Hobbes his Last Animadversions (1658)

• These ended with the death of Bramall in 1658• In 1666, the year of the Great Fire of London, the

King criticizes Hobbes’ works and refers to them as anarchy material

• Hobbes is prohibited from publishing anymore works

• Hobbes continued to write and completes and autobiography in 1672

• At the age of 86 Hobbes published his works Iiliad and The Odessey

• Passes away on December 4, 1679

• Hobbes was considered a scientist, a mathematician, a translator, a tutor, a philosopher, and a debater. But he was best known as a writer, especially in the field of politics and morality

• Was renowned for rejecting Natural Law, and implementing new ideas in society

Elements of Law

• Explains how people are ruled by their desires, but does not make people good or bad

• Everyone is focused upon his or her own interests, making cooperation impossible in the long term

• The king needs to rule the people to keep control, and it is necessary to surrender all authority to him so that he can govern effectively

The Social Contract

• The Idea that people accepted an unwritten contract by taking part in society. Everyone has to accept it and follow its rules for society to work properly

• As society grows, it needs an authoritative figure, who governs the people e.g. King

Leviathon

• In 1646, Hobbes began writing Leviathon, or the Matter, Form and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiastical and Civil.

• It took 5 years to complete, but it became Hobbes’s ‘masterpiece’

• It is divided into 4 sections: “Of Man”, “Of Commonwealth”, “Of a Christian Commonwealth” and “Of the Kingdom of Darkness”

Thoughts on Human Nature

• Hobbes stated that people were naturally selfish and instinctively chose whatever best satisfied their senses. Their need to satisfy this is greater than any other need

• Life is "nasty, brutish and short“• He felt that morals, justice, liberty, and other

concepts were mere social constructs, and had no value outside of society

True or False:

Thomas Hobbes rejects natural law.

True or False:

Thomas Hobbes said that PEOPLE are "nasty, brutish and short"

Leviathon is divided into how many sections?a) 2b) 4c) 6

Hobbes was interested in the nature of man and how nature affected society. Hobbes reasoned that nature was nothing but perpetual war, and that man was nasty, violent and brutish by creation. In order for there to be justice in society, people have to live in a sovereign state that is able to create and execute law. To Thomas Hobbes, this was the only way to ensure survival. Disobeying these laws, would result in chaos and the return of perpetual war. As a Positivist, Hobbes believed that law must be made by man to protect man from his own natural brutality, law must maintain order and strength in a society.

THOMAS HOBBES THEORY IN PRACTICE:

Thomas Hobbes believed that in order for society to function as a whole all legitimate political power must be "representative" and based on the consent of the people ... we did not consent to writing a letter or role playing.