Thomas Hobbes
Enlightenment Philosopher
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.
Thomas Hobbes Reflecting Gorgias
Significant Quotes
“When man reasoneth, he does nothing else but conceive a sum total, from addition of parcels; or conceive a remainder, from subtraction of one sum from another: which, if it be done by words, is conceiving of the consequence of the names of all the parts, to the name of the whole;or from the names of the whole and one part, to the name of the other part. And though in some things, as in numbers, besides adding and subtracting, men name other operations, as multiplying and dividing;yet they are the same: for multiplication is but adding together of things equal; and division, but subtracting of one thing, as often as we can.These operations are not incident to numbers only, but to all manner of things that can be added together, and taken one out of another. For as arithmeticians teach to add and subtract in numbers, so the geometricians teach the same in lines, figures (solid and superficial), angles,proportions, times, degrees of swiftness, force, power, and the like; thelogicians teach the same in consequences of words, adding together two names to make an affirmation, and two affirmations to make a syllogism, and many syllogisms to make a demonstration; and from the sum,or conclusion of a syllogism, they subtract one proposition to find the other. Writers of politics add together pactions to find men’s duties; and lawyers, laws and facts to find what is right and wrong in the actions of private men. In sum, in what matter soever there is place for addition and subtraction, there also is place for reason; and where these have no place, there reason has nothing at all to do.”
“For reason, in this sense, is nothing but reckoning(that is, adding and subtracting) of the consequences of general names agreed upon for the marking and signifying of our thoughts; I say marking them, when we reckon by ourselves; and signifying, when we demonstrate or approve our reckonings to other men.”
“The use and end of reason is not the finding of the sum and truth of one, or a few consequences, remote from the first definitions and settled significations of names; but to begin at these, and proceed from one consequence to another. For there can be no certainty of the last conclusion without a certainty of all those affirmations and negations on which it was grounded and inferred. ”
“The signs of science are some certain and infallible; some, uncertain. Certain, when he that pretendeth the science of anything can teach the same; that is to say, demonstrate the truth thereof perspicuously to another: uncertain, when only some particular events answer to his pretence, and upon many occasions prove so as he says they must. Signs of prudence are all uncertain; because to observe by experience, and re-member all circumstances that may alter the success, is impossible. But in any business, whereof a man has not infallible science to proceed by, to forsake his own natural judgment, and be guided by general sentences read in authors, and subject to many exceptions, is a sign of folly, and generally scorned by the name of pedantry.”