Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was an English philosopher, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of political thought. He is best known for his monumental work, Leviathan (1651), in which he articulated a theory of sovereignty and government.

Life and Context

Hobbes lived during a tumultuous period in English history, marked by the English Civil War. This experience profoundly shaped his views on the necessity of a strong, sovereign power to prevent anarchy and civil strife. He believed that without a central authority, human life would be a "war of all against all."

Key Philosophical Contributions

State of Nature

Hobbes famously described the "state of nature" as a condition without government or society. In this state, individuals are driven by self-interest and a perpetual fear of death. He argued that life in the state of nature would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." There would be no industry, no culture, no arts, and constant fear and danger of violent death.

"Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where every man is enemy to every man; the same is consequent to the time, wherein men live without other security, than what their own strength, and their own invention shall furnish them withal. In such condition, there is no place for Industry; because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no Culture of the earth; no Navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by Sea; no commodious Building; no Instruments of moving, and removing such things as require much force; no Knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of Time; no Arts; no Letters; no Society; and which is worst of all, continuall feare, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." – Leviathan, Part I, Chapter XIII

Social Contract Theory

To escape the dreadful state of nature, Hobbes proposed the idea of a social contract. Individuals voluntarily surrender some of their natural rights and freedoms to a sovereign power in exchange for security and order. This sovereign, whether a monarch or an assembly, must possess absolute authority to enforce laws and maintain peace.

Sovereignty

Hobbes advocated for absolute sovereignty. He believed that any division of power or right to resist the sovereign would inevitably lead back to the state of nature. The sovereign's power is indivisible and unlimited, and subjects have no right to rebel, as doing so would break the contract and plunge society back into chaos.

Major Works

The Elements of Law, Natural and Politic (1640)
De Cive (1642)
Leviathan (1651)
De Corpore (1655)
De Homine (1658)

Legacy

Hobbes's ideas, particularly his emphasis on sovereignty and his grim view of human nature, have been highly controversial but profoundly influential. He laid crucial groundwork for modern political philosophy and the concept of the social contract, influencing thinkers like Spinoza and Locke, even as they diverged from his conclusions.