Thomas Hobbes
life
Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury was born on April 5, 1588 in Wiltshire, England. He completed a B.A. at Oxford University in 1608 before going on to tutor the children of aristocrats such as William and Charles Cavendish.
Under the recommendation of Sir James Hussey Hobbes would secure tutoring positions with a least three Cavendish sons. His relationship with William Jr., son of William Cavandish lead to a grand tour of Europe, which brought Thomas Hobbes in association with the Venetian intelligentsia by way of an associate of Paolo Sarpi by the name of Fulgenzio Micanzio.
He was well acquainted with the top scholars of his time such as Descartes, Mersenne, Gassendi,Ben Jonson, and perhaps most notably Francis Bacon, for whom he translated many Latin works.
Works
His most impressive work was Leviathan in 1651. Much as is the case for many followers of Gorgias, the flatterers doctrine would not be abandoned. With Hobbes’ Leviathan, it is still maintained, as it was in the Plato’s dialogue of Gorgias by Gorgias and company, that all actions should be done for the sake of the action and not for the sake of the good.
In and with Leviathan Thomas Hobbes attempts to resurrect the defeated Gorgias doctrine, by conjuring a mysterious force counteract the chaos and degeneration the doctrine, if followed guarantees.
Much as Adam Smith would later do with his invisible hand, Hobbes’ Leviathan is in a sense his antedote to the chaos his predecessors created.
Death
Thomas Hobbes died in 1679 and by that time many historian believe that he had laid the foundation for what would become western political philosophy.