Thomas Hobbes – UGC NET – Political Science Notes

Thomas Hobbes

(Detailed Notes)

Western Political Thought (Unit 2)

UGC NET POLITICAL SCIENCE

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THOMAS HOBBES

Table of Contents

LIFE SKETCH
DEVELOPMENTS IN SCIENCE AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON HOBBES
HOBBES’ POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
HUMAN NATURE
State of Nature
Natural Laws
Contract and Sovereign Power
Individualism and Liberalism
Liberty and the Right of Self-preservation
Political Obligation
WOMEN AND THE GENDER QUESTION
CONCLUSION

Leviathan is considered the greatest political philosophy work in the English language, praised for its logical construction, clarity of thought, and originality.
Hobbes’ work focused on peace, order, security, and commodious living, becoming key elements in political theory.
Hobbes emphasized atomistic individuality and the all-powerful sovereign as the core components of modern society.
Contrary to Aristotle, Hobbes argued that human beings were not naturally social; politics and the state were artificially created through convention and human action.
Hobbes’ political philosophy was deeply influenced by two key life events:
- The fear of the Spanish Armada that led to his premature birth.
- The outbreak of the English Civil War, during which Hobbes fled England at age 84.
Fear was a central theme in Hobbes’ life and philosophy, stating, "Fear and I were born twins," highlighting its role in his political theory.
Hobbes regarded self-preservation as a supreme right, influenced by Grotius's idea of individuals having the right to preserve themselves.
Both Hobbes and Grotius viewed self-preservation as the basis of morality in its minimalist or natural sense, advocating benevolence in complex human relationships.
Hobbes believed that even those seeking self-preservation remained unpredictable and dangerous due to the uncertainty of knowledge about others' intentions.
In pre-civil society, Hobbes argued, there was anarchy, driven by the independence of human judgment and the uncertainty of others’ actions.
Hobbes’ view of conflict arose from independence of judgment, not from conflicting desires, a reflection of the scarcity of resources and unlimited desires.
Hobbes, like Richard Hooker, was among the first to write in English rather than Latin, marking a shift in political philosophy in England.
Unlike his predecessors, Hobbes dismissed classical antiquity, relying on logic and reason as intellectual tools, without a strong interest in traditional readings or observations.
Leviathan (1651) was shaped by the civil strife in England following Charles I’s execution, and it faced significant criticism:
- Some contemporaries, like Clarendon and Whitehall, condemned the book for containing “lewd principles”.
- Filmer agreed with Hobbes’ conclusions but rejected his premises.

LIFE SKETCH

Hobbes was born on April 5, 1588, as the second son in a poor family. His father was a clergy member near Malmesburg, Wiltshire.
He was raised by his uncle and was a bright student, mastering several languages, including Latin, Greek, French, Italian, and English.
Hobbes translated Euripides’ Medea from Greek into Latin as a schoolboy. He also translated Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War into English in 1629.
Before his death, Hobbes translated Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad into English.
Hobbes was a quick writer of both prose and verse, with the last 10 chapters of Leviathan (approximately 90,000 words) written in under a year.
He studied scholastic logic and physics at Oxford University, but disliked the education, dismissing scholasticism as absurd.
After completing his education, Hobbes joined the household of William Lord Cavendish (Earl of Devonshire) in 1618, where he worked as a tutor and later as a secretary.
Hobbes accompanied Lord Cavendish’s son on a grand tour of Europe (1610–1615) and later on additional tours in 1630 and 1634–1635, gaining valuable political and intellectual insights.
Hobbes met prominent figures like Galileo Galilei, Pierre Gassendi, Marin Mersenne, and corresponded with Descartes.
Venice made a lasting impression on Hobbes during his travels.
During the English Civil War (1641) and the Thirty-Year War (1618–1648), Hobbes studied telescopes, believing they could offer military advantage, and explored optics and physics.
By 1640, Hobbes had written drafts of De Cive (1642) and fled to France in 1640 due to fear of persecution for his Elements of Law.
Hobbes stayed in France until 1651–1652, publishing Leviathan in 1651, which led to his estrangement from Charles II.
After returning to England, Hobbes submitted to the republican government under Oliver Cromwell and received a pension from Charles II.
Hobbes published De Corpore in 1655. In 1657, Leviathan was reported to the parliamentary committee as “a most poisonous piece of atheism”.
Hobbes suffered from severe illness in 1647 and developed symptoms of Parkinson’s disease by 1648.
Despite his illness, he completed Leviathan, sending weekly installments from Paris to London for publication.
In his later years, Hobbes faced a terrifying reaction to his work, writing additional books to vindicate himself, including a revised Latin edition of Leviathan in 1688 and Behemoth in 1670.
In 1683, both Leviathan and De Cive were condemned and burned at Oxford University.
Hobbes served the Cavendish family for over four generations and was treated with respect in old age, but not as an honored guest.
Hobbes died on December 3, 1679, from paralysis, after falling ill in October 1679.
John Aubrey, his biographer, reported that Hobbes exercised regularly, walking fast, playing tennis, and having rub-downs to maintain his fitness.
Hobbes had a fear of death, which became fundamental to his philosophy and shaped his ideas about human nature.
He kept a notebook with him to write down his "darting thoughts" and was a voracious reader, always reading whatever he came across.
Hobbes was a self-taught philosopher who was conscious of his lack of formal philosophical training.

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