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 This page has been archived and is no longer updated.  Find out more about page archiving. Thomas Hobbes: Balancing Dominion and Liberty By Professor John Rogers Last updated 2011-02-17 Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was one of the most influential of all political philosophers. His book Leviathan virtually founded the study of the modern state. A cement to bind society When Thomas Hobbes published Leviathan in 1651, he set a model for the understanding of the nature, purpose and justification of government, according to principles which could for the first time be characterised as 'scientific'. At the heart of his account is the idea of a social contract: a cement which binds together the atoms of society - individual persons - in a mutually advantageous agreement to accept a central authority, the function of which is to provide the conditions under which individuals may flourish. Without that central authority things fall apart into anarchy or war, which destroys all possible civic life and prosperity. Hobbes was born in the Wiltshire town of Malmesbury where his father, Thomas senior, was a curate. Hobbes said of himself that 'Fear and I were born twins. My mother hearing of the Spanish Armada sailing up the English channel gave premature birth to me'. The father had a reputation for being quarrelsome, and after an altercation and court case he fled the area in 1604. His son Thomas, after schooling in Malmesbury, entered Magdalen Hall, Oxford (later Hertford College) from which he matriculated in 1603. Tutor to the Cavendish family At the universities, 'the study is not properly philosophy... but Aristotelity.' At Oxford the syllabus was the standard scholastic curriculum, dominated by the works of Aristotle. Many years later in Leviathan Hobbes expressed his contempt for the universities which act 'as a handmaid to the Roman religion: and since the authority of Aristotle is only current there, that study is not properly philosophy...but Aristotelity'. Yet substantial traces of Aristotle's thinking can be seen even in Hobbes' mature work. Like many other great thinkers, he believed that he had more fully escaped from his early teaching than he really had. Although Hobbes did not distinguish himself as an undergraduate his tutor recommended him to the wealthy Cavendish family, a stroke of fortune for Hobbes that provided him with employment throughout his life. Hobbes became tutor and companion to William Cavendish, two years his junior, accompanying him to London, as a student to Cambridge, and on a continental tour to France, Germany and Italy. William went on to become a

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  • 5/7/2015 BBCHistoryBritishHistoryindepth:ThomasHobbes:BalancingDominionandLiberty

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/hobbes_01.shtml 1/4

    Thispagehasbeenarchivedandisnolongerupdated.Findoutmoreaboutpagearchiving.ThomasHobbes:BalancingDominionandLibertyByProfessorJohnRogersLastupdated20110217

    ThomasHobbes(15881679)wasoneofthemostinfluentialofallpoliticalphilosophers.HisbookLeviathanvirtuallyfoundedthestudyofthemodernstate.

    AcementtobindsocietyWhenThomasHobbespublishedLeviathanin1651,hesetamodelfortheunderstandingofthenature,purposeandjustificationofgovernment,accordingtoprincipleswhichcouldforthefirsttimebecharacterisedas'scientific'.Attheheartofhisaccountistheideaofasocialcontract:acementwhichbindstogethertheatomsofsocietyindividualpersonsinamutuallyadvantageousagreementtoacceptacentralauthority,thefunctionofwhichistoprovidetheconditionsunderwhichindividualsmayflourish.Withoutthatcentralauthoritythingsfallapartintoanarchyorwar,whichdestroysallpossibleciviclifeandprosperity.

    HobbeswasbornintheWiltshiretownofMalmesburywherehisfather,Thomassenior,wasacurate.Hobbessaidofhimselfthat'FearandIwereborntwins.MymotherhearingoftheSpanishArmadasailinguptheEnglishchannelgaveprematurebirthtome'.Thefatherhadareputationforbeingquarrelsome,andafteranaltercationandcourtcasehefledtheareain1604.HissonThomas,afterschoolinginMalmesbury,enteredMagdalenHall,Oxford(laterHertfordCollege)fromwhichhematriculatedin1603.

    TutortotheCavendishfamilyAttheuniversities,'thestudyisnotproperlyphilosophy...butAristotelity.'

    AtOxfordthesyllabuswasthestandardscholasticcurriculum,dominatedbytheworksofAristotle.ManyyearslaterinLeviathanHobbesexpressedhiscontemptfortheuniversitieswhichact'asahandmaidtotheRomanreligion:andsincetheauthorityofAristotleisonlycurrentthere,thatstudyisnotproperlyphilosophy...butAristotelity'.YetsubstantialtracesofAristotle'sthinkingcanbeseeneveninHobbes'maturework.Likemanyothergreatthinkers,hebelievedthathehadmorefullyescapedfromhisearlyteachingthanhereallyhad.

    AlthoughHobbesdidnotdistinguishhimselfasanundergraduatehistutorrecommendedhimtothewealthyCavendishfamily,astrokeoffortuneforHobbesthatprovidedhimwithemploymentthroughouthislife.HobbesbecametutorandcompaniontoWilliamCavendish,twoyearshisjunior,accompanyinghimtoLondon,asastudenttoCambridge,andonacontinentaltourtoFrance,GermanyandItaly.Williamwentontobecomea

  • 5/7/2015 BBCHistoryBritishHistoryindepth:ThomasHobbes:BalancingDominionandLiberty

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/hobbes_01.shtml 2/4

    RoundheadsvCavaliers:theslidetocivilwarwhichtoHobbesprovedthenecessityforastrongstate

    MemberofParliament,whileHobbesbegantopublish.

    Auniverseofmatterandmotion

    HisfirstimportantworkwasatranslationofThucydides'HistoryofthePeloponnesianWar(1629).BynowHobbesseemedtosensethatEnglandwasmovingtowardscivilwar,andwillhaveseeninThucydides'saccounteffectiveargumentsagainstanationalconflict.SometimeafterthisHobbesdiscoveredEuclideangeometry,whichprovidedhimwithaparadigmofrationalargumentinwhich,fromselfevidentfirstprinciples,itwaspossibletoprovebyrigorouslogicthatother,lessevident,propositionswerealsotrue.Hewentontodevelopamaterialistandmechanicalconceptionoftheworldinwhichtheuniverseconsistsofnothingbutmatterandmotion.

    Combiningtheseinsights,Hobbessawthepossibilityofascienceofnature,whichwouldbeginfromagreeddefinitionsandfromwhichitwouldbepossibletodeduceinawaysimilartogeometry,newtruthsabouttheworld,manandsociety.ThisthreefoldvisionemergedasthreeworkswritteninLatin:DeCorpore(1655),DeHomine(1658)andDeCive(1642).Thelast,DeCive,waspublishedfirst,inresponsetotheoutbreakofcivilwarinEngland.ItwascompletedinParis,whereHobbeshadfledin1640.

    Nasty,brutishandshortThegoalswehavearethesatisfactionofourdesires..ofwhichthemostfundamentalarethedesirestostayaliveandavoidpain.

    Leviathanafuller,EnglishversionofDeCivepublishedin1651justbeforeHobbes'returntoEnglandrevealsapoliticalphilosophythatisintimatelyrelatedtoHobbes'accountofthenaturalworld.Thushetakesitforgrantedthatallchangeeverycauseisproducedbythemotionofbodiesimpactingoneonanother.HetookupGalileo'sprincipleofinertia:thatanobject,oncesetinmotion,wouldcontinuetomoveunlessacteduponbysomeotherbody.

    InHobbes'atomisticpsychologyimaginationisdescribedas'dyingsense'.Itistheimaginationwhichmotivatespeopleaswetrytoachievegoalswhich,untiltheyarerealized,existonlyinourthought.Thegoalswehavearethesatisfactionofourdesires,ofwhichthemostfundamentalarethedesirestogoonlivingandtoavoidpain.Inthepresocialstatethestateofnaturecompetingdesiresamongstessentiallyequalhumanbeingsforthelimitedsupplies,generateconflictand,inHobbes'mostfamousphrase,thelifeofmanis'solitary,poor,nasty,brutishandshort'.

    Thepurposeofthestate

  • 5/7/2015 BBCHistoryBritishHistoryindepth:ThomasHobbes:BalancingDominionandLiberty

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/hobbes_01.shtml 3/4

    BalancingDominionandLiberty:thefrontispieceofLeviathan

    Itclearlyistotheadvantageofallmentoescapefromthisstateof'warofallagainstall'.Buttodosorequiresmentogiveuptheirlibertytopursueanygoaltheywishandtoenterintoagreementorcontractwithothermentoacceptsomecommonpowertomakeandenforcelawsoverthem.Thusthestatecomesintoexistencethroughacompact.Andthepowertocreateandenforcelawsisvestedinsomepersonorpersons.

    Hobbesfavouredmonarchyasthebestformofgovernment,holdingthatbotharistocracyanddemocracywerelesseffectivebutheacceptedthatthiswastosomeextentanopenquestion.Thecrucialstepwastogetanauthority.Itwastheroleoftherulertoprovidetheconditionsunderwhichpeoplecouldliveatpeacewithoneanotherandtoprotectthemfromexternalenemies.

    ItiscentraltoHobbes'systemthatsovereignpowerisabsolute...

    ItiscentraltoHobbes'systemthatsovereignpowerisabsolute,inthesensethatwhateverthesovereigndecidesisfinal.Thisfamouslyincludesthewholeareaofreligion.AsHobbessawitthemostcommonsourceofconflictinthecentury,includingEngland'scivilwar,werereligiousdisagreements.Forthisreasonheheldthattheremustanationalreligioninwhichthesovereignwasalsoheadofthechurch.NotsurprisinglyHobbeswashostiletotheRomanchurchandtoallotherformsofindependentchurchgovernment.

    'Everythingiseitherbodyornothing'Hobbes'materialism'everythingiseitherbodyoritisnothing'andhismechanicaldeterminismsoonbroughtagainsthimthechargeofatheism.AlthoughitwouldbewrongtoregardhimasstronglyreligiousthereisnoreasontodoubthisclaimthathewasanAnglican,albeitwithCalvinistleanings.Heisoftenregardedassanctioningabsolutism,buthewouldreplythatallthathehaddonewastodescribethewayinwhichsocietiesactuallyworkandthatunlessthiswasrecognisedtheoutcomewouldbedisorderandsocialdisaster.

    Heremainsapowerfulpresenceinpoliticaltheorytothisday,350yearson...

    HobbesremainedclosetotheCavendishfamilyfromtheRestorationof1660untilhisdeathattheageof91atHardwickHallin1679.WhilstinFrancehehadbeenmathematicstutortotheyoungexiledCharlesIIandremainedafavouritewithhismonarchuntilhisdeath,thoughthepensionthatCharlesgrantedhimwasonlyrarelypaid.Hisabilitytoinvitedisputeatthecourtledtheyoungbloodstogatherto'baitthebear'.

    Hispublishedworkscausedanenormousamountofcontroversyinhisownlifetime,andindeedhavedoneeversince.Butfewwoulddenytheintellectualpowerofhisanalysis,therhetoricalforceofhisEnglishprose,orhisplaceintheveryfirstrankofpoliticalphilosophers.Heremainsapowerfulpresenceinpoliticaltheorytothisday,threehundredandfiftyyearsafterthepublicationofhismajorwork.

  • 5/7/2015 BBCHistoryBritishHistoryindepth:ThomasHobbes:BalancingDominionandLiberty

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/hobbes_01.shtml 4/4

    FindoutmoreBooks

    Hobbes.ABiographybyA.P.Martinich(CUP,1999)

    PastMasters:HobbesbyRichardTuck(OUP,1989)

    HobbesandHistoryeditedbyG.A.J.RogersandTomSorell(Routledge,2000)

    AbouttheauthorG.A.J.RogersisProfessoroftheHistoryofPhilosophyatKeeleUniversityandisfoundereditoroftheBritishJournalfortheHistoryofPhilosophy.HehaswrittenextensivelyonseventeenthcenturyBritishphilosophy,especiallyHobbes,LockeandtheCambridgePlatonistsandheiscurrentlyeditingacriticaleditionofLeviathan.


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