Biography Category
Name :
Thomas Hobbes
Date :
Views :
1269
Category :
Birth Date :
05/04/1588
Birth Place :
Malmesbury, Gloucestershire, England.
Death Date :
December 4, 1679
Not Available
"My mother gave birth to twins, myself and fear," said Thomas Hobbes at a later stage in life. Thomas Hobbes was bornprematurely on April 5, 1588, when his mother heard of the impending invasion of the Spanish Armada. His father was the Vicar of Westport near Malmesbury, Gloucestershire, where Hobbes was born. His father, who shared the name with the future philosopher, was well known unfortunately for his stupidity and quarrelsome nature.[br /]
[br /]
Thomas Hobbes was fortunate to be raised by his uncle Francis who was a wealthy man. As he had no child of his own, he contributed much to maintain his nephew Thomas, at Magdelan Hall in Oxford. Hobbes led a sheltered boyhood. At the age of four, Hobbes attended school in Westport Church and remained there till he was eight. By that time, he was able to read well and count up to thousand. He was then tutored by Mr Evans, the minister of the town and thereafter by Mr Robert Latimer, a young man who ran a private school in Westport.[br /]
[br /]
At the age of 15, Thomas went to Magdelan Hall, at Oxford during summer where, he used to wake up quite early in the morning. He would tie the leaden counters with packthreads and would smear it with birdlime. He would bait them with parings of cheese. The flying jackdaws would see them from a distance and strike at the bait, getting caught in the string, in the process.[br /]
[br /]
Thomas disliked Aristotle’s philosophy taught at Oxford. He devoted most of his time reading books on travel and studying maps. In 1608, he graduated as a bachelor of arts. Thereafter, he became companion and tutor to the eldest son of Lord Cavendish, and maintained a lifelong connection with the family.[br /]
[br /]
He then had leisure to travel and the opportunity to talk to greats like Francis Bacon, Ben Jonson, and other men of substance. In 1610, he visited France and Italy. Aristotelian philosophy was losing ground, whereas the discoveries of Galileo and Johann Kepler were making inroads. In the meanwhile, he learned Italian and French.[br /]
[br /]
He returned to England determined to be a classical scholar. Hobbes' interest in classical studies resulted in the translation ofThucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian Wars in 1629. The work was inspired by the unrest of the time. Hobbes perceived a warning against democracy. Hobbes’ old pupil, friend, and patron Lord William Cavendish died in 1628, necessitating the need for another pupil. The same year, he made a second tour to the continent, with a new pupil, the son of Sir Gervase Clifton. While on his journey, he developed a passion for geometry. He planned to use the geometrical method to demonstrate his social and political principles. While on tour, he was invited from Paris, to teach the young Earl of Devonshire, William Cavendish, the son of his late patron.[br /]
[br /]
During a third trip to Europe, his interest in science and philosophy was stimulated by his contact with leaders of the new thought in Europe – Italian astronomer Galileo, French philosophers Descartes and Gassendi. During his Paris stay he was admired as a philosopher, especially by Mersenne. Hobbes gained experience after several discussions of physical sciences, with several leading thinkers of the day.[br /]
[br /]
In 1637, Hobbes returned to England and published Little Treatise, which had traces of his theory of motion. His luck took a turn for better when his reputation as a mathematician fetched him the position to instruct the Prince of Wales in mathematics, in 1644 when the Prince had to leave the country for France. Hobbes returned to England following the controversy regarding his views on papacy in his most famous work Leviathan, which the French clergymen found insulting. Back home, it was not a smooth sail either. The House Of Commons, in 1666, ordered all the works of Thomas Hobbes to be studied to check its profanity and its atheistical side to prevent any controversy.[br /]
[br /]
The rest of his life was spent in publishing works of rich philosophy. When he was past 90, he was involved in controversies with the Royal Society. His exclusion from the membership was a great insult to this man who had contributed something so profound in the field of philosophy. Charles commented, "...if he had been less dogmatic he would have been indispensable to the Royal Society...For there are few who scan things more closely than he." Despite these disheartening experience in his own country, his fame out in the world was ever expanding.[br /]
[br /]
At the age of 84, he wrote an autobiographical poem in Latin couplets. He was busy defending his theology, mathematics, and natural philosophy till his death. The old age had started showing its signs in form of deterioration of his health. His hands started shaking in 1650. He said of old age, "Old men are drowned inwardly by their own moisture." He prescribed a cure for himself and started taking longer walks, also got himself rubbed after his walks and tennis matches (which he played regularly till he was very old), and also wore very warm clothes to perspire properly. He also concentrated on the air passage leading to lungs, and as a remedy started singling loudly behind fastened doors.[br /]
[br /]
He invited friends to suggest appropriate epitaphs and favored one that read, "this is the true philosopher’s stone." He died on December 4, 1679, at the age of 91.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Thomas Hobbes was fortunate to be raised by his uncle Francis who was a wealthy man. As he had no child of his own, he contributed much to maintain his nephew Thomas, at Magdelan Hall in Oxford. Hobbes led a sheltered boyhood. At the age of four, Hobbes attended school in Westport Church and remained there till he was eight. By that time, he was able to read well and count up to thousand. He was then tutored by Mr Evans, the minister of the town and thereafter by Mr Robert Latimer, a young man who ran a private school in Westport.[br /]
[br /]
At the age of 15, Thomas went to Magdelan Hall, at Oxford during summer where, he used to wake up quite early in the morning. He would tie the leaden counters with packthreads and would smear it with birdlime. He would bait them with parings of cheese. The flying jackdaws would see them from a distance and strike at the bait, getting caught in the string, in the process.[br /]
[br /]
Thomas disliked Aristotle’s philosophy taught at Oxford. He devoted most of his time reading books on travel and studying maps. In 1608, he graduated as a bachelor of arts. Thereafter, he became companion and tutor to the eldest son of Lord Cavendish, and maintained a lifelong connection with the family.[br /]
[br /]
He then had leisure to travel and the opportunity to talk to greats like Francis Bacon, Ben Jonson, and other men of substance. In 1610, he visited France and Italy. Aristotelian philosophy was losing ground, whereas the discoveries of Galileo and Johann Kepler were making inroads. In the meanwhile, he learned Italian and French.[br /]
[br /]
He returned to England determined to be a classical scholar. Hobbes' interest in classical studies resulted in the translation ofThucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian Wars in 1629. The work was inspired by the unrest of the time. Hobbes perceived a warning against democracy. Hobbes’ old pupil, friend, and patron Lord William Cavendish died in 1628, necessitating the need for another pupil. The same year, he made a second tour to the continent, with a new pupil, the son of Sir Gervase Clifton. While on his journey, he developed a passion for geometry. He planned to use the geometrical method to demonstrate his social and political principles. While on tour, he was invited from Paris, to teach the young Earl of Devonshire, William Cavendish, the son of his late patron.[br /]
[br /]
During a third trip to Europe, his interest in science and philosophy was stimulated by his contact with leaders of the new thought in Europe – Italian astronomer Galileo, French philosophers Descartes and Gassendi. During his Paris stay he was admired as a philosopher, especially by Mersenne. Hobbes gained experience after several discussions of physical sciences, with several leading thinkers of the day.[br /]
[br /]
In 1637, Hobbes returned to England and published Little Treatise, which had traces of his theory of motion. His luck took a turn for better when his reputation as a mathematician fetched him the position to instruct the Prince of Wales in mathematics, in 1644 when the Prince had to leave the country for France. Hobbes returned to England following the controversy regarding his views on papacy in his most famous work Leviathan, which the French clergymen found insulting. Back home, it was not a smooth sail either. The House Of Commons, in 1666, ordered all the works of Thomas Hobbes to be studied to check its profanity and its atheistical side to prevent any controversy.[br /]
[br /]
The rest of his life was spent in publishing works of rich philosophy. When he was past 90, he was involved in controversies with the Royal Society. His exclusion from the membership was a great insult to this man who had contributed something so profound in the field of philosophy. Charles commented, "...if he had been less dogmatic he would have been indispensable to the Royal Society...For there are few who scan things more closely than he." Despite these disheartening experience in his own country, his fame out in the world was ever expanding.[br /]
[br /]
At the age of 84, he wrote an autobiographical poem in Latin couplets. He was busy defending his theology, mathematics, and natural philosophy till his death. The old age had started showing its signs in form of deterioration of his health. His hands started shaking in 1650. He said of old age, "Old men are drowned inwardly by their own moisture." He prescribed a cure for himself and started taking longer walks, also got himself rubbed after his walks and tennis matches (which he played regularly till he was very old), and also wore very warm clothes to perspire properly. He also concentrated on the air passage leading to lungs, and as a remedy started singling loudly behind fastened doors.[br /]
[br /]
He invited friends to suggest appropriate epitaphs and favored one that read, "this is the true philosopher’s stone." He died on December 4, 1679, at the age of 91.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
"A Law of Nature (Lex Naturalis) is a precept, or general rule, found out by reason, by which a person is forbidden to do that which is destructive of his life, or takes away the means of preserving the same; and to omit that by which he thinks it may be preserved," said Thomas Hobbes, the English philosopher and political theorist known even today for his philosophical works. He began his career as a philosophical author when he was 40. His works voiced the state of affairs of the society then, and also about the depth of human understanding. In spite of suffering from shaking palsy, Hobbes continued to write and enlighten the minds of contemporary and future philosophers.[br /]
[br /]
He wrote, as he had "nothing else to do." A charitable man, Hobbes was the propounder of the Laws of Nature.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
He wrote, as he had "nothing else to do." A charitable man, Hobbes was the propounder of the Laws of Nature.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]April 5, 1588[/b]
Born in Malmesbury, Gloucestershire, England.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1603 [/b]
He entered Magdalen Hall, Oxford.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1608 [/b]
Received a bachelor’s degree.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1610 [/b]
His first tour to Europe.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1628 [/b]
His English translation of Thucydides was published.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1629 [/b]
Hobbes went on a tour to the continent for a second time.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1634 [/b]
His third tour to the continent.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1636 [/b]
Visited Italy.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1637 [/b]
Returned to England.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1642 [/b]
De Cive published.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1646 [/b]
Hobbes was sent on an exile to Paris.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1647 [/b]
The second edition of De Cive was published.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1651 [/b]
He returned to England. Leviathan was published.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1665 [/b]
De Corpore was published in the year of Great Plague.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1666 [/b]
Year of the Great Fire in London.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1675 [/b]
Hobbes published a translation of both the Odyssey and the Illiad.[br /]
[br /]
[b]December 4, 1679[/b]
He passed away at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Born in Malmesbury, Gloucestershire, England.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1603 [/b]
He entered Magdalen Hall, Oxford.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1608 [/b]
Received a bachelor’s degree.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1610 [/b]
His first tour to Europe.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1628 [/b]
His English translation of Thucydides was published.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1629 [/b]
Hobbes went on a tour to the continent for a second time.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1634 [/b]
His third tour to the continent.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1636 [/b]
Visited Italy.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1637 [/b]
Returned to England.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1642 [/b]
De Cive published.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1646 [/b]
Hobbes was sent on an exile to Paris.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1647 [/b]
The second edition of De Cive was published.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1651 [/b]
He returned to England. Leviathan was published.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1665 [/b]
De Corpore was published in the year of Great Plague.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1666 [/b]
Year of the Great Fire in London.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1675 [/b]
Hobbes published a translation of both the Odyssey and the Illiad.[br /]
[br /]
[b]December 4, 1679[/b]
He passed away at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The works of Hobbes appeared at a much later stage in life. His first work a translation of Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian Wars was published in 1629. Thucydides held that knowledge of the past, was useful for determining correct action. Hobbes offered the translation during a period of civil unrest as a reminder that the ancients believed that democracy was the least effective form of government.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The most crucial event of Hobbes’ life occurred when he was 40. While waiting for a friend he wandered into a library and chanced upon a copy of Euclid’s geometry. He read a proposition and exclaimed, "By God that is impossible !" Fascinated by the interconnections between axioms, postulates and premises, he adopted the ideal of demonstrating certainty by way of deductive reasoning.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
His second work, A short Treatise on First Principles, (1630), reflected his interest in mathematics. The work represented a mechanical interpretation of sensation.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
After he returned from his last visit, he wrote a sketch of his new theory, entitled, Elements of Law, Natural and Politic. The treatise was published in 1650. The first 13 chapters were issued with the title, Human Nature and the remainder of the volume, as a separate work, named De Corpore Politico.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Hobbes went to France when England was threatened by Civil War in November 1640. He stayed there for 11 years. Hobbes had matured the plan for his own philosophical work. He decided to write three treatises, dealing respectively with matter or body, human nature and society.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
He intended to have dealt with those subjects in order, but as his country "was boiling hot with questions concerning human rights of dominion and the obedience due from subjects, the true forerunners of an approaching war", that "ripened and plucked from me this third part" of the system. De Cive was published in 1642, in Paris.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
When political affairs took a normal course, he published an English version, translated by himself, named Philosophical Rudiments Concerning Government and Society, in 1651, in London. His most celebrated work Leviathan was published in the same year. The book throws light on many a subjects, like epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, religion other than political philosophy, the main theme.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Hobbes returned to England in 1651, to remain there for 28 years till death. De Corpore appeared in 1655 and its second part De Homine, in 1656. The latter work was not significant, as it said all that was already preached in his earlier works. De Corpore dealt with logical, mathematical and physical principles. The Questions Concerning Liberty, Necessity and Chance, also published in 1656, as an elaborate defense to criticisms against his earlier work, the tract of Liberty and Necessity.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The tract on Heresy, answer to attack on Leviathan and Behemoth : the History of the Causes of the Civil Wars of England, was published in 1668. Dialogue between a Philosopher and a student of the Common Laws of England appeared around the same time.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
At the age of 80, he composed Historia Ecclesiastica in elegiac verse. He wrote his autobiography in Latin verse when he was 84. In 1673, he published a translation in rhymed quatrains of four books of Homer's the Odyssey. In 1675, he completed both Iliad and Odyssey.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
With widening knowledge and an experienced life, the mature, philosophical works of Hobbes were published. His understanding of human nature, society, and politics is relevant in all of them. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The most crucial event of Hobbes’ life occurred when he was 40. While waiting for a friend he wandered into a library and chanced upon a copy of Euclid’s geometry. He read a proposition and exclaimed, "By God that is impossible !" Fascinated by the interconnections between axioms, postulates and premises, he adopted the ideal of demonstrating certainty by way of deductive reasoning.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
His second work, A short Treatise on First Principles, (1630), reflected his interest in mathematics. The work represented a mechanical interpretation of sensation.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
After he returned from his last visit, he wrote a sketch of his new theory, entitled, Elements of Law, Natural and Politic. The treatise was published in 1650. The first 13 chapters were issued with the title, Human Nature and the remainder of the volume, as a separate work, named De Corpore Politico.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Hobbes went to France when England was threatened by Civil War in November 1640. He stayed there for 11 years. Hobbes had matured the plan for his own philosophical work. He decided to write three treatises, dealing respectively with matter or body, human nature and society.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
He intended to have dealt with those subjects in order, but as his country "was boiling hot with questions concerning human rights of dominion and the obedience due from subjects, the true forerunners of an approaching war", that "ripened and plucked from me this third part" of the system. De Cive was published in 1642, in Paris.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
When political affairs took a normal course, he published an English version, translated by himself, named Philosophical Rudiments Concerning Government and Society, in 1651, in London. His most celebrated work Leviathan was published in the same year. The book throws light on many a subjects, like epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, religion other than political philosophy, the main theme.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Hobbes returned to England in 1651, to remain there for 28 years till death. De Corpore appeared in 1655 and its second part De Homine, in 1656. The latter work was not significant, as it said all that was already preached in his earlier works. De Corpore dealt with logical, mathematical and physical principles. The Questions Concerning Liberty, Necessity and Chance, also published in 1656, as an elaborate defense to criticisms against his earlier work, the tract of Liberty and Necessity.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The tract on Heresy, answer to attack on Leviathan and Behemoth : the History of the Causes of the Civil Wars of England, was published in 1668. Dialogue between a Philosopher and a student of the Common Laws of England appeared around the same time.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
At the age of 80, he composed Historia Ecclesiastica in elegiac verse. He wrote his autobiography in Latin verse when he was 84. In 1673, he published a translation in rhymed quatrains of four books of Homer's the Odyssey. In 1675, he completed both Iliad and Odyssey.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
With widening knowledge and an experienced life, the mature, philosophical works of Hobbes were published. His understanding of human nature, society, and politics is relevant in all of them. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• Of names, some are proper, and singular to one thing only, as Peter, John, this man, this tree; and some are common to many things, man, horse, tree; every of which, though but one name, is nevertheless the name of diverse particular things; in respect of all which together, it is called an universal; there being nothing universal but names; for the things named are every one of them individual and singular.[br /]
[br /]
• Miracles are marvelous works : but that which is marvelous to one, may not be so to another. Sanctity may be feigned; and the visible felicities of this world, are most often the work of God by natural, and ordinary causes. And therefore no man can infallibly know by natural reason, that another has had a supernatural revelation of God’s will; but only a belief; every one, as the signs thereof shall appear greater or lesser, a firmer or weaker belief.[br /]
[br /]
• Words are wise men’s counters, they do but reckon by them : but they are the money of fools, that value them by the authority of an Aristotle, a Cicero, or a Thomas, or any other doctor whatsoever, if but a man.[br /]
[br /]
• The errors of definitions multiply themselves according as the reckoning proceeds; and lead men into absurdities, which at last they see but cannot avoid, without reckoning anew from beginning.[br /]
[br /]
• Nature itself cannot err.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• Miracles are marvelous works : but that which is marvelous to one, may not be so to another. Sanctity may be feigned; and the visible felicities of this world, are most often the work of God by natural, and ordinary causes. And therefore no man can infallibly know by natural reason, that another has had a supernatural revelation of God’s will; but only a belief; every one, as the signs thereof shall appear greater or lesser, a firmer or weaker belief.[br /]
[br /]
• Words are wise men’s counters, they do but reckon by them : but they are the money of fools, that value them by the authority of an Aristotle, a Cicero, or a Thomas, or any other doctor whatsoever, if but a man.[br /]
[br /]
• The errors of definitions multiply themselves according as the reckoning proceeds; and lead men into absurdities, which at last they see but cannot avoid, without reckoning anew from beginning.[br /]
[br /]
• Nature itself cannot err.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
